The Crash of Russia

Chapter 34. Ritual Murder.

March 1911 In Kyiv, Jews killed a boy, Andrei Yushchinsky. The police were of the opinion that it was a ritual murder by Jews. Pyotr Stolypin did not believe this. He ordered a thorough investigation and a report on the results. It was only known for sure that the boy was killed by the clerk of the Kyiv brick factory, Menachem Mendel Beilis, who was arrested. Before that, the body of 12-year-old Andrei Yushchinsky was found in the Kiev suburbs in the village of Lukyanovka. The Black Hundreds accused Beilis in all the newspapers of sacrificing an innocent boy to Jehovah and demanded a trial. The investigation did not have any special evidence and Beilis was kept under arrest.

Stolypin said at a Duma session that he "does not believe in ritual murder," which caused the indignation of deputy Purishkevich and other monarchists. Meanwhile, an assassination attempt on Stolypin himself was being prepared. Later, the jury acquitted Beilis for "lack of evidence proving his guilt, and he was later released from the courtroom," although the ritual murder of 12-year-old Andrey Yushchinsky was recognized as having been committed by unidentified perpetrators in order to use his blood for the preparation of matzo, a traditional Jewish bread. The prosecution relied almost exclusively on the testimony of a witness, Zhenya Chekhovskaya, who, according to the defense attorneys, had been pressured by the police and agitators from the Union of the Russian People.

Chapter 35. Mr. Bogrov.

Mordko Gershkovich, better known as Dmitry Bogrov, wanted to become famous all his short life by doing something out of the ordinary. On the one hand, there was a thirst for heroism in his soul, and on the other hand, he suffered from bouts of severe depression, from which he did not know how to get out. These were either drinking parties with friends - students at the University of Munich, where he studied to be a lawyer, or plans for a revolution in Russia, the assassination of the emperor or high-ranking officials, which were born in the head of the young man after studying the works of the famous anarchists Kropotkin and Stirner.

In a desire for revolutionary struggle, Dmitry returned to his native Kyiv in 1906. In Kyiv, Dmitry became a member of the circle of anarchist communists. In 1907, Bogrov was disappointed with his activities among the anarchists. He wanted to be promoted to a leadership position, but his comrades considered him incapable of much. So Bogrov decided to take revenge on his comrades - he became a sexot - a secret employee of the tsarist secret police. Bogrov was given two pseudonyms: Alensky and Kapustyansky.

In 1908, the police destroyed the anarchist group "Burevestnik" of Naum Tysh and German Sandomirsky. The members of the group were sent to hard labor.

At that time, Bogrov lived in his father's house on Bibikovsky Boulevard in Kyiv, and the feeling of "his meaningless life" overtook him once again with renewed vigor, and he wrote in a letter to a friend: "I have become a desperate neurasthenic. In general, I am pretty tired of everything and want to do something extravagant." And so, finally, Bogrov decides to liquidate Stolypin as the minister who gave Russia a chance to change society through reforms without revolution and anarchy. And, from Dmitry Grigorievich’s point of view, the person responsible for all the Jewish pogroms in Russia, since Stolypin was the Minister of Internal Affairs.

In St. Petersburg, where Bogrov arrived, at a meeting of the anarchist circle in 1910, Bogrov declares to Yegor Lazarev, having come to this meeting under the pretext of having an order to deliver letters to Lazarev, brought by some lady from Paris.

- “I am doing this with all the greater pleasure because I needed to see you. Even more than that, I actually came to St. Petersburg to see you.”

- "So what exactly do you want to do, young man?" Lazarev asks, lighting a cigarette.

- "I have decided to commit a terrorist act and kill Minister Stolypin. You think this is a joke or madness on my part, but what I said is neither a joke nor madness, but a deliberate task that I have decided to carry out at all costs."

- "And why Stolypin and not the Tsar?" Lazarev asked Bogrov.

- "Because the murder of the Tsar will not change anything, the heir by regency will reign, but the murder of such an active reactionary Stolypin will stop all reforms, and the revolution will certainly happen and the monarchy will be overthrown," Bogrov answered without thinking.

- «And what exactly motivates you, a brilliant lawyer, intelligent, well-read, to take on such a radical initiative and responsible role, without fear of the consequences for yourself?!» Lazarev immediately exclaimed.

- «I have come to the conclusion that in Russian conditions a systematic revolutionary struggle against the central ruling figures is the only expedient one. In Russia, the regime is personified in the ruling figures, who are strong because they remain unknown and inaccessible. What is your answer to my proposal, which, after much reflection, I decided to believe you? I see that your mood is paternal, not businesslike. You want to set me on the right path, so that I can diligently engage in my legal practice, and, among other things, all kinds of cultural activities, reading and writing revolutionary brochures, etc. Meanwhile, you sometimes actively speak out against such atrocities, and in such cases it is the “scapegoats” who are disappointed. The main culprits remain unpunished. It is the duty of the socialist parties and the intelligentsia in general to point out to the masses the real culprits. You know that the powerful leader of the wild reaction that is now underway is Stolypin. I come to you and say that I have decided to eliminate him, and you advise me to engage in cultural and educational activities instead. I explain this only by the fact that you are not prepared for a thoughtful answer. Therefore, I ask you to think over my proposal and then allow me to come to you another time,” Bogrov finished his fiery speech. - “We consider the elimination of the Tsar a more important task than his minister, and it is not for you, young whippersnapper, to lecture us. You can never come back again,” Lazarev responded irritably. The rest of those present supported Lazarev. There were cries of “Go away with your ideas,” “Stop throwing a rally here.” And the misunderstood Dmitry stood up and left, slamming the door.

As he walked down the stairs he muttered: - "I haven't given you up enough to the police, you'll remember me yet."

Some time passed. Bogrov did not show up at the anarchist meetings, and they, in turn, suspected him of having connections with the secret police. But the main thing for Dmitry was to carry out his plan at any cost, and thereby not only become a famous terrorist who would finally manage to kill Stolypin, who had already been the subject of 11 assassination attempts by that time, but also justify himself to his comrades that he was not an informer for the secret police. And he was an informer, because he enjoyed giving up his superiors in the party line, who did not value him at all.

Two weeks later, Bogrov visited Lazarev again with his proposal and referred to the fact that his connections in the service in the committee under the Ministry of Trade and Industry would help him get closer to Stolypin, but he was decisively refused once again. Bogrov did not abandon his goals and entered into communication with the head of the St. Petersburg security department, von Kotten. After which von Kotten did not particularly believe him, since he did not receive any special information from Bogrov. And then Bogrov went to Kyiv, and from there to Nice to improve his poor health.

After returning from Nice, in early February 1911, Bogrov did not participate in the meetings of revolutionaries in Kyiv, and none of the socialists and anarchists put any pressure on him.

On February 19, anarchist Pyotr Lyatkovsky was released from Kyiv prison after the event of punishment in the case in which he was brought in together with G. Sandomirsky and others in 1907. Lyatkovsky came to Bogrov's apartment at his invitation. They sat at the table, smoked cigarettes one after another, drank vodka.

And then Dmitry said: - "Somehow it turns out that some comrades suspect me of working for the secret police."

- "How can they accuse you of betrayal?!" Lyatkovsky asked in bewilderment. - "After all, you have everything, you are the son of a millionaire. You have no reason to work for the secret police for money, you are an ideological person," he continued.

- "I worked with comrades from the magazine "Byloye" and learned a lot from them there, so for some reason I have to rehabilitate myself in the eyes of Lazarev and others? So how can I do this? Only by killing Nikolai?"

- "So which of the revolutionaries does not dream of killing Nikolai," Lyatkovsky interrupted Bogrov.

- "No," Bogrov continued, "Nikolai is nonsense, Nikolai is a toy in Stolypin's hands. After all, I am a Jew, and by killing Nikolai I will cause an unprecedented Jewish pogrom. It is better to kill Stolypin. Thanks to his policy, the revolution was strangled and reaction set in."

- "You can't be so naive as to think that you can get through the crowd of all kinds of guards to both Nikolai and Stolypin. After all, this is beyond the power of one person, and therefore it is necessary to counter this guard - your own organization of militants, and that I am personally ready to take part in this organization, as well as find steadfast, determined comrades for this purpose," Lyakhovsky objected to Bogrov.