A. Zhelyabov. “A revolutionary who never backs down. Zhelyabov Andrey Ivanovich: biography, photos, views Canonization as martyrs of the revolution

S. Nikolaevka, Feodosia district, Tauride province - April 3 [April 15], St. Petersburg) - populist revolutionary, member of the Executive Committee of the People's Will, one of the organizers of the assassination of Emperor Alexander II.

Biography

Hanged on the parade ground of the Semenovsky regiment along with other March 1st soldiers on April 3 (15).

Personality assessments

V.I. Lenin put Zhelyabov on a par with such great revolutionaries as Robespierre and Garibaldi.

Acting as a prosecutor in the Special Presence of the Governing Senate in the trial of the case “On the atrocity of March 1, 1881, the victim of which was the late Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich in Bose,” N. V. Muravyov, at a meeting on March 28, 1881:

“At the trial and during the preliminary examination of the case, in Zhelyabov’s testimony, the contents of which are included in the indictment, one feature is noticeable, which I have already pointed out, this feature is the desire to present his case in an exaggerated light, the desire to expand it, the desire to give the organization a character which she did not have, the desire, I will say frankly, to show off the significance of the party, and partly to try to intimidate. But the defendant succeeds in neither the first nor the second. All these statements about revolutionary heroism are sewn together with white threads; the court sees through them the ugly truth<…>When, based on the data of the case, I formed a general opinion, a general impression of Zhelyabov, he seemed to me to be a man who cared very much about the external aspect, about the appearance of his position. When, at the trial, with feigned pride, he said that he enjoyed the confidence of the executive committee, I was fully convinced that we had before us the type of revolutionary ambitious man.”

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 10.1880 - 02.27.1881 - apartment building, 2nd Rota, 15, apt. 4;
• 02/27/1881 - apartment of M. N. Trigoni in the apartment building of P. I. Likhachev - Nevsky Prospekt, 66, apt. 12.
• From 1918 to 1991, Zhelyabova Street was called Bolshaya Konyushennaya Street.

Bibliography

• Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov. Materials for biography. M., .
• Asheshov N. P. Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov. Materials for biography and characteristics. Pg.: Publication of the Petrograd Council of Workers and Red Army Deputies, .
• Voronsky A.K. Zhelyabov. M., .
• Davydov Yu. March. M., .
• Zaslavsky D. A. I. Zhelyabov. M.; L.: Giz, .
• Kleyankin A.V. Andrey Zhelyabov is the hero of Narodnaya Volya. M.: Publishing House of Socio-Economic Literature, .
• Prokofiev V. A. Zhelyabov. M.: Young Guard, . (“The Life of Remarkable People”).
• Tikhomirov L. A. I. Zhelyabov and S. L. Perovskaya. Rostov-on-Don: Don speech,.
• Trifonov Yu. V. Impatience: The Tale of Andrei Zhelyabov. M.: Politizdat, . - 543 p., ill. (“Fiery revolutionaries”); 2nd ed., revised. - . - 543 p., ill.; Same. - . - 511 p.: ill.
• Daring / D. Valovaya, M. Valovaya, G. Lapshina. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1989. - 314 p., ill. P.228-238.

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Literature

• Boldness/ D. Valovaya, M. Valovaya, G. Lapshina. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1989. - 314 p., ill. P.228-238.
• Krasnov P. N. Kingslayers. - M.: Panorama, 1994. - ISBN 5-85220-396-3.
• Trial of the regicides. Case of March 1, 1881. Edited by V.V. Razbegaev. Ed. them. N. I. Novikova. St. Petersburg volume 1 and 2. 2014. ISBN 978-5-87991-110-7, ISBN 978-5-87991-112-1
• Edward Radzinsky. Prince. Notes from an informer. - M.: AST, 2013. - ISBN 978-5-17-082193-8.

Movies

• “The only love of the governor’s daughter” (documentary film, director Elizaveta Trusevich, film company “StoLent”, 2009).

Notes

Links

• Anna Yakimova.

In art:

• A. Voronsky. A series of biographies of remarkable people. Moscow, 1934 Magazine and newspaper association.
• Nikolay Dorizo. "Andrey Zhelyabov" (1970).

Excerpt characterizing Zhelyabov, Andrey Ivanovich

“Vos informations peuvent etre meilleures que les miennes,” Anna Pavlovna suddenly attacked the inexperienced young man venomously. – Mais je sais de bonne source que ce medecin est un homme tres savant et tres habile. C"est le medecin intime de la Reine d"Espagne. [Your news may be more accurate than mine... but I know from good sources that this doctor is a very learned and skillful person. This is the life physician of the Queen of Spain.] - And thus destroying the young man, Anna Pavlovna turned to Bilibin, who, in another circle, picked up the skin and, apparently, about to loosen it to say un mot, spoke about the Austrians.
“Je trouve que c"est charmant! [I find it charming!],” he said about the diplomatic paper with which the Austrian banners taken by Wittgenstein were sent to Vienna, le heros de Petropol [the hero of Petropol] (as he was called in Petersburg).
- How, how is this? - Anna Pavlovna turned to him, awakening silence to hear the mot, which she already knew.
And Bilibin repeated the following original words of the diplomatic dispatch he composed:
“L"Empereur renvoie les drapeaux Autrichiens,” said Bilibin, “drapeaux amis et egares qu"il a trouve hors de la route, [The Emperor sends the Austrian banners, friendly and lost banners that he found outside the real road.],” Bilibin finished , loosening the skin.
“Charmant, charmant, [Lovely, charming,” said Prince Vasily.
“C"est la route de Varsovie peut être, [This is the Warsaw road, maybe.] - Prince Hippolyte said loudly and unexpectedly. Everyone looked back at him, not understanding what he wanted to say by this. Prince Hippolyte also looked back with cheerful surprise around him. He, like others, did not understand what the words he said meant. During his diplomatic career, he more than once noticed that the words spoken in this way suddenly turned out to be very witty, and he said these words just in case, the first ones that came to his mind. “Maybe it will work out very well,” he thought, “and if it doesn’t work out, they will be able to arrange it there.” Indeed, while an awkward silence reigned, that insufficiently patriotic face entered Anna Pavlovna, and she, smiling and shaking her finger at Ippolit, invited Prince Vasily to the table, and, presenting him with two candles and a manuscript, asked him to begin. Everything fell silent.
- Most merciful Emperor! - Prince Vasily declared sternly and looked around the audience, as if asking if anyone had anything to say against this. But no one said anything. “The Mother See of Moscow, New Jerusalem, receives its Christ,” he suddenly emphasized his words, “like a mother into the arms of her zealous sons, and through the emerging darkness, seeing the brilliant glory of your power, sings in delight: “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes.” ! – Prince Vasily said these last words in a crying voice.
Bilibin examined his nails carefully, and many, apparently, were timid, as if asking what was their fault? Anna Pavlovna repeated in a whisper forward, like an old woman praying for communion: “Let the impudent and insolent Goliath…” she whispered.
Prince Vasily continued:
– “Let the daring and insolent Goliath from the borders of France carry deadly horrors to the edges of Russia; meek faith, this sling of the Russian David, will suddenly strike down the head of his bloodthirsty pride. This image of St. Sergius, the ancient zealot for the good of our fatherland, is brought to your imperial majesty. I am sick because my weakening strength prevents me from enjoying your most kind contemplation. I send warm prayers to heaven, that the Almighty may magnify the race of the righteous and fulfill your Majesty’s good wishes.”
– Quelle force! Quel style! [What power! What a syllable!] - praise was heard to the reader and writer. Inspired by this speech, Anna Pavlovna’s guests talked for a long time about the situation of the fatherland and made various assumptions about the outcome of the battle, which was to be fought the other day.
“Vous verrez, [You will see.],” said Anna Pavlovna, “that tomorrow, on the sovereign’s birthday, we will receive news.” I have a good feeling.

Anna Pavlovna's premonition really came true. The next day, during a prayer service in the palace on the occasion of the sovereign's birthday, Prince Volkonsky was called from the church and received an envelope from Prince Kutuzov. This was a report from Kutuzov, written on the day of the battle from Tatarinova. Kutuzov wrote that the Russians did not retreat a single step, that the French lost much more than we did, that he was reporting in a hurry from the battlefield, without having yet managed to collect the latest information. Therefore, it was a victory. And immediately, without leaving the temple, gratitude was given to the creator for his help and for the victory.
Anna Pavlovna's premonition was justified, and a joyfully festive mood reigned in the city all morning. Everyone recognized the victory as complete, and some were already talking about the capture of Napoleon himself, his deposition and the election of a new head for France.
Far from business and among the conditions of court life, it is very difficult for events to be reflected in all their fullness and force. Involuntarily, general events are grouped around one particular case. So now the main joy of the courtiers was as much in the fact that we had won as in the fact that the news of this victory fell precisely on the sovereign’s birthday. It was like a successful surprise. Kutuzov’s news also spoke about Russian losses, and Tuchkov, Bagration, and Kutaisov were named among them. Also, the sad side of the event involuntarily in the local St. Petersburg world was grouped around one event - the death of Kutaisov. Everyone knew him, the sovereign loved him, he was young and interesting. On this day everyone met with the words:
- How amazing it happened. At the very prayer service. And what a loss for the Kutais! Oh, what a pity!
– What did I tell you about Kutuzov? - Prince Vasily now spoke with the pride of a prophet. “I always said that he alone is capable of defeating Napoleon.”
But the next day there was no news from the army, and the general voice became alarming. The courtiers suffered for the suffering of the unknown in which the sovereign was.
- What is the position of the sovereign! - said the courtiers and no longer praised him as the day before, but now condemned Kutuzov, who was the cause of the sovereign’s anxiety. On this day, Prince Vasily no longer boasted about his protege Kutuzov, but remained silent when it came to the commander-in-chief. In addition, by the evening of this day, everything seemed to come together in order to plunge the residents of St. Petersburg into alarm and worry: another terrible news was added. Countess Elena Bezukhova died suddenly from this terrible disease, which was so pleasant to pronounce. Officially, in large societies, everyone said that Countess Bezukhova died from a terrible attack of angine pectorale [chest sore throat], but in intimate circles they told details about how le medecin intime de la Reine d "Espagne [the Queen's physician of Spain] prescribed Helen small doses some kind of medicine to produce a certain effect; but how Helen, tormented by the fact that the old count suspected her, and by the fact that the husband to whom she wrote (that unfortunate depraved Pierre) did not answer her, suddenly took a huge dose of the medicine prescribed for her and died in agony before they could give help. They said that Prince Vasily and the old count took on the Italian, but the Italian showed such notes from the unfortunate deceased that he was immediately released.
The general conversation centered around three sad events: the unknown of the sovereign, the death of Kutaisov and the death of Helen.
On the third day after Kutuzov’s report, a landowner from Moscow arrived in St. Petersburg, and news of the surrender of Moscow to the French spread throughout the city. It was terrible! What was the position of the sovereign! Kutuzov was a traitor, and Prince Vasily, during the visites de condoleance [visits of condolence] on the occasion of the death of his daughter, which were made to him, spoke about Kutuzov, whom he had previously praised (he could be forgiven in his sadness for forgetting what he had said before), he said, that nothing else could be expected from a blind and depraved old man.
“I’m only surprised how it was possible to entrust the fate of Russia to such a person.”
While this news was still unofficial, one could still doubt it, but the next day the following report came from Count Rostopchin:
“The adjutant of Prince Kutuzov brought me a letter in which he demands from me police officers to accompany the army to the Ryazan road. He says that he is leaving Moscow with regret. Sovereign! Kutuzov’s act decides the lot of the capital and your empire. Russia will shudder upon learning of the cession of the city where the greatness of Russia is concentrated, where the ashes of your ancestors are. I will follow the army. I took everything away, I can only cry about the fate of my fatherland.”
Having received this report, the sovereign sent the following rescript to Kutuzov with Prince Volkonsky:
“Prince Mikhail Ilarionovich! Since August 29 I have not had any reports from you. Meanwhile, on September 1st, through Yaroslavl, from the Moscow commander-in-chief, I received the sad news that you had decided to leave Moscow with the army. You yourself can imagine the effect this news had on me, and your silence aggravates my surprise. I am sending with this general the adjutant Prince Volkonsky in order to find out from you about the position of the army and the reasons that prompted you to such sad determination.”

Nine days after leaving Moscow, a messenger from Kutuzov arrived in St. Petersburg with official news of the abandonment of Moscow. This sent was the Frenchman Michaud, who did not know Russian, but quoique etranger, Busse de c?ur et d'ame, [however, although a foreigner, but Russian at heart,] as he himself said to himself.
The Emperor immediately received the messenger in his office, in the palace of Kamenny Island. Michaud, who had never seen Moscow before the campaign and who did not speak Russian, still felt moved when he appeared before notre tres gracieux souverain [our most gracious sovereign] (as he wrote) with the news of the fire of Moscow, dont les flammes eclairaient sa route [whose flame illuminated his path].

Born into a family of serf serfs (brother Mikhail, sisters Alexandra, Maria, Olga). Zhelyabov was taught to read by his maternal grandfather Gavrila Timofeevich Frolov; Having learned about this, the landowner Nelidov decided to continue the child’s education. In 1860, Zhelyabov was assigned to the Kerch district school, which was later transformed into a classical gymnasium. At the gymnasium, I first became acquainted with the ideas of socialism by reading N. G. Chernyshevsky’s book “What is to be done?” Graduated with a silver medal.

In 1869, Zhelyabov entered the law faculty of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. He was an active member of the student socialist circle. In 1871, Zhelyabov led student unrest caused by the offensive behavior of teacher Bogisich, for which he was expelled from the university and then expelled from the city. The following year, Zhelyabov was denied reinstatement at the university. He was forced to earn a living by doing occasional lessons. Zhelyabov meets members of the Tchaikovsky circle of F. Volkhovsky. In 1873, after marrying Olga Semyonovna Yakhnenko, from whose marriage son Andrei was born, Zhelyabov moved to Gorodishche, Kyiv province. Here he met leaders of Ukrainian revolutionary organizations (including members of Hromada, a nationalist organization). In the same year he returned to Odessa and became a member of the Volkhovsky circle. In 1874 he was arrested in the case of P. Makarevich, but was then released on bail. In 1875-1877 - participant in the “walking among the people.” In 1877 he was arrested and taken to St. Petersburg. Here, in the House of Pre-trial Detention, he met many populists, including S. Perovskaya. Participated in the “Process 193”. On January 23, 1878 he was acquitted. Then Zhelyabov lived in the Podolsk province, continuing to conduct propaganda among the peasants.

Without seeing the results of propaganda in the village, like many other populists, Zhelyabov gradually came to the conviction of the need for political terror. In June 1879 he took part in the Lipetsk Congress and became a member of the Executive Committee of the new party. Then Zhelyabov was accepted as a member of Land and Freedom, so he was able to participate in the Voronezh Congress. After the split of Land and Freedom, he became one of the most active figures in Narodnaya Volya.

On November 17, 1879, near Aleksandrovsk, he took part in a failed assassination attempt on Emperor Alexander II, who was returning from the Crimea, by blowing up his train.

In February 1880, he acted as one of the organizers of the explosion in the Winter Palace, prepared and carried out by S. Khalturin. By 1880 he became the de facto leader of the Executive Committee; one of the organizers of the workers, students and military organization "People's Will". He was one of the developers of the program for working members of Narodnaya Volya.

In the winter of 1880-1881. led the preparation of the next assassination attempt on the emperor. Arrested together with M. Trigoni in the furnished rooms of Madame Messiuro, located on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Karavannaya Street, at No. 12, on February 27, that is, 2 days before the successful assassination attempt on Alexander II he prepared. He demanded that he be involved in the cause of the regicides.

Sentenced to death along with other Narodnaya Volya members by the Special Presence of the Governing Senate, opened on March 26 (first present Senator Fuchs, Prosecutor N. Muravyov). At trial he refused a defense lawyer; tried to express his beliefs and the party program (“... I served the cause of liberation of the people. This is my only occupation, which I have been serving with all my being for many years,” he said during interrogation).

Streets in more than two dozen cities in Russia and Ukraine are named after the organizers of the murder, Andrei Zhelyabov and Sofia Perovskaya[specify].

Personality assessments

V.I. Lenin put Zhelyabov on a par with such great revolutionaries as Robespierre and Garibaldi.

Acting as a prosecutor in the Special Presence of the Governing Senate in the trial of the case “On the atrocity of March 1, 1881, the victim of which was the late Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich in Bose” N.V. Muravyov, at a meeting on March 28, 1881:

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 10.1880 - 02.27.1881 - apartment building, 2nd Rota, 15, apt. 4;
• 02/27/1881 - apartment of M. N. Trigoni in the apartment building of P. I. Likhachev - Nevsky Prospekt, 66, apt. 12.

Bibliography

• Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov. Materials for biography. M., 1930.
• Asheshov N.P. Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov. Materials for biography and characteristics. Pg.: Publication of the Petrograd Council of Workers and Red Army Deputies, 1919.
• Voronsky A.K. Zhelyabov. M., 1934.
• Davydov Yu. Mart. M., 1959.
• Zaslavsky D. A. I. Zhelyabov. M.; L.: Giza, 1925.
• Kleyankin A.V. Andrey Zhelyabov - hero of “Narodnaya Volya”. M.: Publishing house of socio-economic literature, 1959.
• Prokofiev V. A. Zhelyabov. M.: Young Guard, 1965. (“The Life of Remarkable People”).
• Tikhomirov L. A. I. Zhelyabov and S. L. Perovskaya. Rostov-on-Don: Don speech, 1906.
• Trifonov Yu. V. Impatience: The Tale of Andrei Zhelyabov. M.: Politizdat, 1973. - 543 pp., ill. (“Fiery revolutionaries”); 2nd ed., rev. - 1974. - 543 p., ill.; Same. - 1988. - 511 p.: ill.
• Daring / D. Valovaya, M. Valovaya, G. Lapshina. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1989. - 314 p., ill. P.228-238.

In the history of Russian terrorism, the most striking figure is Andrei Ivanovich Zhelyabov, whom another revolutionary fanatic, V.I. Lenin, compared with Garibaldi and Robespierre. In Zhelyabov’s understanding, a great goal was capable of justifying any means used to achieve it. It was precisely this goal that became for him and his comrades “the happiness of the people,” which they imagined rather vaguely, but for which they were ready, without hesitation, to shed their own and other people’s blood.

Serf high school student

The future famous terrorist was born in 1851 into a family of serfs in the village of Nikolaevka. Little Andryusha learned to read and write from his grandfather Gavrila Timofeevich, and his first textbook was the Psalter. Contrary to the established opinion that the serf-owners were completely soulless exploiters, his owner turned out to be a man not only humane towards his peasants, but also a supporter of universal education. In 1860, at his own expense, he sent nine-year-old Zhelyabov to study at the Kerch gymnasium.

Introduction to the world of utopia

Thanks to his inquisitive mind and enviable perseverance, Andrei graduated in 1869 with a silver medal and in the same year became a student at the Faculty of Law of Novorossiysk University in Odessa. Even in his high school years, Zhelyabov became acquainted with the ideas of revolutionary reorganization of the world, which had a strong influence on him. The final turn in his consciousness came after reading Chernyshevsky’s book “What is to be done?”, which shaped his ideological beliefs. Zhelyabov himself wrote about this.

Andrei Ivanovich, whose photo during his student years is presented in the article, later recalled that among his friends, who also sought to reorganize the world, there was an expression fashionable in those years - “History moves too slowly, it needs to be pushed.” They started pushing at the first opportunity, especially since he was not slow in introducing himself. General discontent was caused by the conservative views of one of the teachers, Professor Bogisic, and Zhelyabov led the student movement directed against him. He hardly contributed to the story, but he dropped out of the university, expelled for misbehavior.

Failed spouse

Further, as in that saying: “I don’t want to study, I want to get married.” Fate turned out to be favorable here too. The daughter of a wealthy sugar manufacturer Yakhnenko, the owner of enterprises in the Kherson province, fell madly in love with a former student, overflowing with ambitions, but without a penny to his name. In 1872, the wedding took place, and soon their first-born Andryusha was born - the heir to his grandfather’s capital and his father’s glorious revolutionary name.

Having become a relative of such a rich and respected man, Andrei Ivanovich Zhelyabov was soon reinstated at the university, where he studied for less than a year - that’s exactly how much the management had the strength to endure his social activity, caused by the same revolutionary ideas. After another expulsion, he left his wife, “immersed in bourgeois prejudices” and did not share his views, and left for Kyiv.

The beginning of revolutionary activity

There Zhelyabov establishes contact with local revolutionaries, and in particular with the leaders of the semi-legal organization “Gromada” operating in those years. By the way, we must give him his due: after parting with his family, he did not try to take advantage of his former father-in-law’s money, but earned his living by giving private lessons.

Soon the time comes for which Zhelyabov has been preparing himself for so long. Andrei Ivanovich begins his revolutionary activity by returning to Odessa in 1873, where he becomes a member of the populist circle led by V.F. Volkovsky. Here he is engaged in propaganda among workers and intelligentsia. Many who had a chance to listen to Andrei Ivanovich in those years noted his outstanding oratorical abilities, which, combined with personal charm, helped Zhelyabov win over the audience.

Arrests and “going to the people”

His propaganda work soon ended with his arrest, but he was released from prison on bail. In the period from 1875 to 1877, Andrei Ivanovich Zhelyabov became a participant in the famous “walks among the people,” when young members of revolutionary circles went to villages to conduct educational activities among peasants, thus trying to encourage them to fight for their social rights.

And again the arrest. In 1877, a large group of populist agitators, among whom was Zhelyabov, appeared in St. Petersburg before a trial, which, due to the number of accused, went down in history as the “Trial of one hundred and ninety-three.” Even during the period of pre-trial detention, he met those who in the future became his associates in the terrorist organization. Among them was Sofya Perovskaya.

Creation of "People's Will"

Fate was kind to Zhelyabov this time too - he was acquitted. Upon his release, he leaves for the Podolsk province, where he resumes propaganda among the peasants. However, very soon the futility of this form of struggle becomes obvious to him, and he comes to the conclusion about the need for terrorist activity as the only possible means of achieving the goal.

In the summer of 1879, a congress of the revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” was held in Lipetsk, of which Zhelyabov became a member. Andrei Ivanovich was one of those who provoked a split between supporters of the peaceful path of political transformation and radicals who saw a possible prospect only in violence. As a result, they separated from the main group, creating their own union, called “People's Will”. Zhelyabov became one of its most active members.

Under his direct leadership, the entire structure of the organization was created, which consisted of several areas, including workers, students and the military. On his orders, dozens of royal officials of various ranks were killed. He also developed a program of action that provided for the destruction of the autocracy, the transfer of land to the peasants and the establishment of social freedoms. By the way, according to the organization’s documents, the seizure of power was necessary only to transfer it to the people. But it’s unclear who they meant.

Hunt for the Sovereign

Zhelyabov Andrei Ivanovich, whose biography is inextricably linked with the Russian revolutionary movement, became the leader of the preparation of a number of assassination attempts on Emperor Alexander II, whom the fighting group he led at its meeting in 1879 sentenced him to death.

The first of them was an attempt to blow up the royal train on its route from Kharkov to Moscow. Zhelyabov, under an assumed name, rented a house near the railway tracks near the city of Aleksandrovsk and personally carried out the digging to lay the mine. That time, only an accident saved the emperor’s life - the explosion occurred when his train passed a dangerous place.

The assassination of the Tsar is a signal for the beginning of the revolution

It is known that he planned the assassination of the king eight times, being convinced that his physical elimination would become the detonator of a social explosion throughout the entire empire. In a fit of enthusiasm, he even planned to go to the Samara province to lead a peasant uprising there. He was also the main organizer of the fatal assassination attempt for Alexander II, committed on March 13 (new style) in St. Petersburg, on the embankment of the Griboyedov Canal. All the details of the terrorist attack were developed by Zhelyabov himself.

Andrei Ivanovich did not personally take part in it, since two days before he was accidentally arrested at one of the safe houses. The terrorist attack was directly supervised by his common-law wife Sofya Perovskaya, the daughter of the St. Petersburg governor and one of the most fierce fighters against autocracy. After she was arrested, Zhelyabov demanded that he also be included among the perpetrators of the assassination attempt.

He was imprisoned in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress. At the trial, he refused a lawyer and used his speech to present the Narodnaya Volya program to the public. According to the verdict, Zhelyabov, along with the other terrorists, was hanged on the Semyonovsky parade ground in St. Petersburg. Note that this was the last public execution in Russia.

Canonization as Martyrs of the Revolution

Zhelyabov Andrei Ivanovich, whose short biography was published abroad a year after his execution, became an example that inspired many subsequent revolutionaries. This was facilitated, in particular, by the wide coverage of his activities published in St. Petersburg in 1906-1907. magazine "Byloe"

The journal's materials also served as the basis for the research work of many Soviet historians, who, among other members of Narodnaya Volya, were primarily interested in Zhelyabov. Andrei Ivanovich, whose views were in tune with Bolshevik ideology, during the Soviet period took an honorable place in the pantheon of martyrs and heroes of the revolution.

In the thirties, it was planned to create a grandiose monument to Zhelyabov, designed by the sculptor Korolev. It was supposed to include, along with a four-meter statue of the revolutionary himself, sculptures of slaves breaking chains. It was planned to create a pedestal for the monument, decorated with six bas-reliefs on historical and revolutionary themes and the inscription “Andrey Ivanovich Zhelyabov (1851-1881).” Some of the parts had already been manufactured, but work was suspended and never resumed.

Zhelyabov Andrey Ivanovich

1851–1881

Russian revolutionary, member of the Executive Committee of the People's Will.

Andrei was born into a family of serf serfs in the Tauride province. The boy was taught to read by his maternal grandfather. Zhelyabov's owner, landowner Nelidov, having learned that the boy was literate, gave him a fairy tale by A.S. Pushkin. “He personally explained the civil alphabet to me and opened up a whole new world for me,” Zhelyabov recalled. In 1860, Nelidov assigned Zhelyabov to the Kerch district school, which was later transformed into a classical gymnasium. In 1861, while studying at the gymnasium, Zhelyabov learned about the liberation of serfs. In an atmosphere of social upsurge, he read Chernyshevsky’s book “What is to be done?” and was considered unreliable at the gymnasium, so he received only a silver medal.

In 1869, Zhelyabov entered the law faculty of Novorossiysk University. Convinced that “history is moving terribly slowly, we need to push it,” Zhelyabov led student protests, for which he was expelled from the university in 1871. He married the daughter of a sugar factory. They had a son, after which Zhelyabov, probably at the request of his friends, was reinstated at the university, but did not live with his family. Expelled for the second time from the 3rd year, he moved to Kyiv in 1872, lived with random lessons, and established contacts with the revolutionary circles of Kyiv.

Since 1874, Zhelyabov became an active participant in “going to the people” and was arrested more than once. In 1877–1878 he was tried in the “Trial of the 193s”, but acquitted.

In 1878, Zhelyabov went into hiding. By that time, he “had matured mentally and physically... his whole being was imbued with some kind of joyful light and great hope”; this hope was the belief in the need to fight the government using terror methods in the name of people's happiness.

In June 1879, Zhelyabov took part in the Voronezh Congress of Populists, where he was accepted into the Land and Freedom organization. After the split of the organization, Zhelyabov became one of the organizers of political terror. He came to the conclusion that terror is “an exceptional, heroic means, but also the most effective.” Since August 1879, he was the main organizer and ideological inspirer of the St. Petersburg organization "People's Will", which he personally called the party, a defender of the terrorist direction of its activities. He believed, however, that “it is possible to seize power only in order to transfer it into the hands of the people.” At that time, he showed the makings of a people's tribune: “a pleasant and strong voice”, extreme “clarity, fervor, impetuosity of speech.”

With the leadership participation of Zhelyabov, the workers, student and military organizations of “Narodnaya Volya” were founded, and program documents were written. They, in particular, provided for the destruction of the autocracy, the convening of the Constituent Assembly, the introduction of democratic freedoms, the transfer of land to the peasants, and the publication of illegal printed publications.

In 1880, Zhelyabov became the de facto leader of the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya, participating in the development of the party program and determining the tactics of struggle. He managed to assemble a Combat Organization and was directly involved in the preparation of several assassination attempts on Alexander II. He justified the need for assassination attempts on the tsar by the fact that the tsarist government itself banned the peaceful propaganda of socialist ideas. He personally participated in the preparation and determination of the tactics of the terrorist attacks. Zhelyabov was a man of “indomitable energy, holding in his hands all the threads of the regicide being prepared.”

The preparation of the assassination attempt, planned two days later, was taken over by his common-law wife, Sofya Perovskaya. At her signal, on March 1, 1881, Grinevitsky threw a bomb at the Tsar and blew himself up. After the arrest of Perovskaya on Nevsky Prospekt on March 10, 1881, Zhelyabov made a statement: “... It would be a blatant injustice to save the life of me, who repeatedly attempted to kill Alexander II and did not take physical part in killing him only by stupid accident” - and demanded to be involved in the case March 1. Before the trial, Zhelyabov was placed in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress. At his trial, he refused to have a lawyer and used the platform to present the program and principles of Narodnaya Volya. Explaining the terror of the revolutionaries, Zhelyabov said: “According to my convictions, I would leave this form of struggle violent, if only there was the possibility of a peaceful struggle, that is, peaceful propaganda of one’s ideas, a peaceful organization of one’s supporters.” According to the court verdict, he was hanged along with Perovskaya, Kibalchich, Mikhailov, Rysakov. This was the last public execution in Russia.

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(1851-1881) Russian politician

Andrei Zhelyabov was born on the rich Sultanovka estate, which belonged to the Ukrainian landowner Kiselev, not far from the city of Feodosia. Andrei's father came from a peasant background, but was able to rise to the position of manager. Mother came from an old Cossack family; a family legend said that one of Zhelyabov’s ancestors fought with the Poles in the army of B. Khmelnitsky. It was his maternal grandfather who became the boy’s first teacher.

When he was nine years old, he was sent to the Kerch district school. Unexpectedly, Andrei was lucky: the school was transformed first into a real pro-gymnasium, and then into a classical gymnasium. Although Andrei came from a democratic environment, his father ensured that the boy studied at the gymnasium, taking advantage of the fact that in 1860 the authorities allowed to admit not only nobles there.

In 1869, Zhelyabov was one of the first to graduate from the Kerch gymnasium. He applied for a gold medal, but due to his ignoble origins he was unable to receive it, becoming the owner of only a silver medal. However, it also gave the right to free university education. And in the fall of 1870, Zhelyabov became a student at the Faculty of Law of Novorossiysk University. He studied well, the professors predicted a brilliant future for him. As a successful student, Zhelyabov began to receive a scholarship established by the wealthy philanthropist A. Luludaki.

But during his third year, Andrei led a delegation of students in negotiations with the rector. They demanded the removal from the university of Professor A. Bogisic, who publicly insulted a first-year student. The rector was afraid of student unrest and complied with the request, but at the same time suspended the instigators (including Zhelyabov) from classes. He returned to Feodosia and continued to study independently, earning a living by giving private lessons. In the fall of 1872, he successfully passed the necessary exams for the third year of the university. Andrei wanted to study with his classmates, but the rector refused to enroll him.

Through acquaintances, Zhelyabov gets a job as a home teacher in the family of a wealthy Ukrainian merchant and sugar manufacturer S. Yakhnenko. Not only does he give lessons to his three daughters, Noah gets the opportunity to communicate with family friends. Yakhnenko was one of the founders of the Ukrainian patriotic organization “Gromada,” which included leading professors from Kyiv University, liberal-minded landowners, and representatives of the intelligentsia.

At meetings of the organization, Zhelyabov met the Ukrainian scientist M. Drahomanov, gardener L. Simirenko, and folklorist P. Chubinsky. He was able to expand his horizons and became acquainted with new branches of knowledge. It was in “Gromada” that Zhelyabov first learned about the existence of foreign revolutionary organizations. Soon he became one of the members of the “Kyiv Commune” - the youth wing of the “Community”, whose representatives gravitated toward a populist orientation. Zhelyabov reads a lot, participates in debates and soon becomes one of the best agitators of the “Gromada”.

At the end of 1872 he married his student O. Yakhnenko. After the wedding, the young couple lived for several months on the Gorodishche estate, which belonged to Olga’s father, but soon moved to Odessa, where Olga entered midwifery courses, and Andrei became an assistant lawyer and began campaigning. He spoke at meetings of workers and intellectuals and helped distribute populist literature. Such activities could not fail to attract the attention of the authorities. At the end of 1874, he was arrested on suspicion of smuggling, but was soon released for lack of evidence of a crime. The police were never able to prove his connections with illegal populist organizations.

Having been released, Zhelyabov continues his activities. He lives either in Odessa or Crimea. He makes several attempts to go among the people and distributes revolutionary literature. In June 1877, he was arrested again, this time for participating in an illegal committee to help the Slavs. He organized a collection of funds that were supposed to go to support the rebels against the Turkish yoke in Bulgaria and Serbia.

After his arrest, Zhelyabov was taken to St. Petersburg, since his name appeared in the testimony of the accused in the “Trial of the 193s.” But at the trial, his like-minded people retracted their testimony, and the authorities were forced to release Zhelyabov for lack of evidence. He was sent under escort to his father-in-law's estate and forbidden to leave it.

At this time, Zhelyabov had a conflict brewing with his wife’s family, who demanded that he stop his illegal activities. For some time he lives on one of the farms that belonged to his brother. In the fall of 1878, Zhelyabov broke off relations with the Yakhnenko family and signed an agreement to divorce. Using false documents, he settles in Odessa and lives illegally for several months.

Zhelyabov comes into contact with the banned terrorist organization “Land and Freedom”. In June 1879, at the congress of terrorists in Lipetsk, he was accepted into the Executive Committee of the organization. He represents Ukrainian terrorists.

After the arrest of a number of members of the organization, Zhelyabov joined its radical wing. At the end of August 1879, at the Voronezh Congress, he became one of the initiators of the creation of the People's Will organization and made a policy statement in which he substantiated the need for terror. He travels a lot around Russia, primarily in southern cities, gathering supporters of the organization who are ready to sacrifice themselves.

Zhelyabov changes his names and lives on false passports. Thanks to going illegal, he manages to avoid clashes with the police. In October 1879, he prepared an assassination attempt on Alexander II in the city of Aleksandrovsk (modern Zaporozhye). However, the police learned about the plans of the conspirators and changed the schedule of the royal train. Then the revolutionary goes to St. Petersburg, where he organizes a library of propaganda literature and at the same time a printing house in which proclamations are printed. He also helps S. Khalturin in preparing a new assassination attempt: it was supposed to organize an explosion inside the Winter Palace. Khalturin manages to smuggle explosives and place a mine in one of the ovens, but thanks to an agent provocateur embedded in the organization, the assassination attempt was not carried out.

After this, some members of the organization were arrested, but Zhelyabov, along with Khalturin, managed to escape. Terrorist activities had to be stopped for some time. But already in April 1880, the military organization “Narodnaya Volya” issued a proclamation in which it announced a merciless armed struggle against the authorities. At the same time, Zhelyabov became the de facto leader of the Executive Committee. Together with N. Kibalchich, S. Perovskaya, V. Figner, he develops a program for the reorganization of Narodnaya Volya and prepares an attempt on the life of Alexander II.

On February 27, 1880, he was arrested for distributing illegal literature, and just three days later, on March 1 of the same year, terrorists killed Emperor Alexander II on the embankment of the Catherine Canal. Having learned about the successful execution of the assassination attempt, Zhelyabov issued a statement in which he revealed his role in the organization and demanded that he be tried along with the regicides.

On March 26, 1880, a trial opened in St. Petersburg, in which Zhelyabov was tried along with Gelfman, Kibalchich, Perovskaya, and Rysakov. At the trial, he made a statement in which he demanded that the case be transferred to a jury trial. In his speech, the revolutionary announced for the first time that their organization turned to terror after the authorities suppressed “peaceful attempts to propagate socialist ideas that reject violence.” In fact, Zhelyabov’s speech at the trial turned into a statement of the program and principles of Narodnaya Volya.

All requests by him and his lawyers were rejected, and on April 3, the four accused were sentenced to hang. Zhelyabov's execution was carried out on the Semenovsky parade ground in St. Petersburg. The hanged were secretly buried at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery.