Angel of Vengeance

• Published in: Queen's quarterly 2009-06, Vol.116 (2), p.224
• Main Author: Siljak, Ana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 19th century AD; Assassinations & assassination attempts; Assassins; Excerpts; French language; Perception; Police; Political aspects; Portrayals; Public officials; Russian culture; Russian history; Russian history, 1801-1917; Russian language; Social aspects; Zasulich, Vera
• ISSN: 0033-6041

When his back was turned, [Vera Zasulich] pulled the revolver out of the folds of her thick cloak. She pulled the trigger twice, then dropped the gun to the floor. A silent pause enveloped the room as everyone froze for a few brief seconds. Then, as the governor screamed and began to collapse to the ground, the room began to whirl with feverish activity. Two guards rushed over to Trepov, catching him in their arms as a dark stain spread on his uniform. The other petitioners fled. A few of Trepov's clerks ran to get the police and the doctor. One of the governor's guards charged toward Vera, enraged, and knocked her to the ground with a tremendous blow to the face. He continued to kick her as she lay motionless on the floor. "The gun, the gun, where is the gun?" someone shouted. It was some time before others finally pulled the guard off Vera and lifted her up. Initially a wave of shock and confusion swept through Russia, and the repercussions were felt abroad. The incident pointed to an as yet undefined Russian crisis. The St Petersburg Register declared that the city was agitated by "the unusual and horrifying incident," which "emphasized domestic discontent." The New York Times found St Petersburg "greatly excited" by the news, and The Times of London reported that the act was met with a "profound and most painful sensation" in Russia. The French Le Temps proclaimed that the incident was "as extraordinary as it was deplorable." In late January, factory owners turned over to the Russian police leaflets they found on factory floors and in workers' dormitories. Bearing only the stamp of the outlawed "Free Russian Press," these anonymous tracts addressed the workers of the city, telling them of Vera Zasulich, who had fired the first shot in the battle for "human rights, and the establishment of peace and humanity on earth." By avenging the flogging of a prisoner, Vera had shown that "tyrants are not almighty." What other recourse did she have, the pamphlets asked, in a society "slavishly silent and oppressed?" Vera was not acting for one man; she was acting in the name of everyone who was poor and downtrodden. She was nothing less than a saint: "Your path will not be strewn with roses, oh fearless Russian heroine! Your path is one already sprinkled with the blood of martyrs."