REVENGE IN RUSSIA

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 10, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 32.

REVENGE IN RUSSIA.

Not many weeks ago we chronicled the assassination of the Russian governor of Finland at the hand of a young Finn who considered that the liberties of his country were being invaded and his people oppressed. The heavy hand of Russia had been laid on the customs and privileges of the Finnish people since Russia had taken a firmer grip on Finland. The legislative powers of the people had been repressed, and their men had been compelled to join Russian regiments in distant lands. To escape this, many young Finns were migrating to America, and the Finns were imbibing fresh draughts of bitterness with each new move of the government. So when the governor was killed, many felt that it was what might have been reasonably looked for in view of the stern measures of the governor and the feelings of the people.

Now a blow has struck nearer the head of the home government. One of the officials who stands nearest to the czar, M. Von Plehve, Minister of the Interior, was instantly killed on July 28 by the explosion of a bomb thrown at his carriage while on his way to report to the czar. The minister's coachman was also killed, and some twenty others were more or less seriously injured, including the assassin himself who was captured. An accomplice was also captured with a bomb in his possession; and it is reported that a conspiracy has been unearthed for the assassination of a number of others, among whom is the czar himself.

A St. Petersburg correspondent states that the assassination of Von Plehve has created consternation in official circles. He says:—

The tragedy completely overshadows the disastrous events of the war. It is not merely the individual crime which appals, but the knowledge of what it forbodes. The police possess clews which lead to the conclusion that Von Plehve's murder was the result of a carefully-laid plot. The authorities are convinced that the assassination is a link in a long chain of similar crimes. It is fully-realized that a new nihilist reign of terror has been inaugurated.

The murdered minister was responsible for the repressive measures aimed at the Jews, and is generally held responsible for the outrages practised upon the Jews at Kishineff. That Russia has been fearing outbreaks on the part of revolutionists and nihilists is shown by the keeping of the regulars at home while the recruits are sent to the front. The dead minister belonged to the party which desired the Russification of all Russia's dependencies, and he was working in perfect accord with the procurator of the Holy Synod in the interests of the Russian state church. There was no stronger repressor of the liberty longings of the Russian people than M. Von Plehve, and a spirit of revenge for this inspired his assassination. With such outbreaks at home, and a disastrous war on its hands, the Russian Government certainly has cause for its anxiety.