Stepan Valerianovich Balmashov, (Russian: Степан Валерианович Балмашев) (April 15, 1881 – May 16, 1902) was a Russian student, who assassinated the Minister of Internal Affairs

Dmitry Sipyagin Dmitry Sergeyevich Sipyagin (russian: Дми́трий Серге́евич Сипя́гин) ( – ) was a Russian politician. Political career Born in Kiev, Sipyagin graduated from the Judicial Department of St Petersburg University in 187 ...

in April 1902 in the

Mariinsky Palace Mariinsky Palace (), also known as Marie Palace, was the last neoclassical Imperial residence to be constructed in Saint Petersburg. It was built between 1839 and 1844, designed by the court architect Andrei Stackenschneider. It houses the ci ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He was hanged in the fortress of

Schlisselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

in May 1902, aged 21.

University life

Balmashov was born in Archangelsk, into a political family. His parents were

Narodniks The Narodniks (russian: народники, ) were a politically conscious movement of the Russian intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism. Their ideology, known as Narodism, ...

who had been sent into administrative exile in Archangel. In 1900, he entered the

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

and immediately became involved in the student movement, which was undergoing a revival. The government's response to student unrest was to issue a decree ordering 183 students to surrender to the army. In January 1901, Balmashov was arrested as one of the leaders of the disturbances, and spent three months in prison. After his release, he was confined to

Roslavl Roslavl (russian: Ро́славль, ) is a town and the administrative center of Roslavlsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia. It is a road and rail junction and a market town. Population: Climate Roslavl has a warm-summer humid continenta ...

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

province, under military supervision. In Autumn 1901, after a change in government policy, he was released from military supervision and moved to

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

and the Narodniks. Returning to Kiev, he was readmitted to university, despite his past record. However, there was soon another outbreak of student disturbances, followed by a crackdown and mass deportation of students to Siberia, for which Balmashov blamed the Minister, Sipyagin.

Assassination of Sipyagin

In 1902, several narodnik groups merged to form the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which included a Battle Organisation headed by Grigory Gershuni, charged with assassinating government officials. Gershuni decided that Sipyagin would be their first target, and Balmashov volunteered to be the assassin. On April 15, 1902 (April 2

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

), Balmashov arrived disguised as an employee to the Mariinsky Palace, where Sipyagin was supposed to be. However, the minister had not yet arrived. Balmashov returned somewhat later and told the doorman that he had some documents from the

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia (''Сергей Александрович''; 11 May 1857 – 17 February 1905) was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor of All Russia, Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure ...

. When Sipygan arrived, Balmashov positioned himself behind the minister and shot him several times, leaving him with serious injuries that resulted in his death an hour later.

Investigation, trial, and execution

During his questioning, Balmashov stated that, "the method of combating a terrorist seems to me inhumane and cruel, but it's inevitable with the current regime", and refused to say anything else. A military tribunal sentenced him to death by hanging. Even though various people recommended that he request a pardon, none was given. The execution took place in the fortress of Shlisselburg in May 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmashov, Stepan Assassins from the Russian Empire 1902 deaths Year of birth missing Executed assassins People executed by the Russian Empire People executed by the Russian Empire by hanging