Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-08-09
VERA sAssULITcH.
Remarkable Career of the Russinn Chal
1otre Corday.

Remarkable Career of the RuEsinn Char
l0tre COrday.
Vera Sassulitch was born in 1850,
according to the apparently most
trustworthy authorities, and in 1867
was shut up in a Lithuanian prison
for the offense of being a schoolmate
of the sister Of Netchaieff, the
political eonspirator. Her impris-
onment lasted two years, and she had
scarcely been liberated when she was
rearrested on an administrative order
of exile, and hurried away from her
mothers house 50 rapidly that she
would have perished Of cold but for
the compassion of a gendarme, who
covered her with his cloak. For some
years she was passed from town to
town as suspect until, having
spent the best years of her life in
prison, a victim to the insolence and
brutality of the police, she had learned
to pity those who were similarly af-
fiicted and to desire to avenge them.
In 1878 she learned Of the brutal i'll
treatment of prisoner, Bogoluboff,
by General Trepoff, "prefect Of the
town, " at st. Petersburg. The general
had entered the fortress and was exas-
perated on beholding Bogoluboff and
companion walking together and con
versing, as, not being convicts, but
merely accused men detained on sus-
picion. they had a right to do.
To harsh question as to why
this was allowed, one of the
two volunteered an explanation. II
do not address you-toyour dungeon /"
shouted the general, furiously. The
two prisoners walked on quietly, when
Trepoff, crying "Hats off r aimed a
deadly blow at Bogoluboff. The pris-
oner's hat fell off, but Bogoluboff
picked it up and put it on, whereupon
the general ordered him to be iogged.
A romantic version made it seem that
Vera Sassulitch had been acquainted
with BogoIubof, but there was no
truth in the story. She read with in
dignation of the outrage, and waited
some time to see if the government
would pay any attention to it. When
no action was taken she resolved to
do vengeance herself, and on February
5, 1873, went to the generals recep-
tion-room with a petition, and when
he stretched out his hand to receive it.,
shot him through the body. She made
no effort to escape, and said that she
had fred upon the general premedi-
lately, without caring whether she
killed him Or merely wounded him,
since in the latter case her end would
be attained of calling attention to his
brutality. She was brought to trial in
April, 1878, and defended by NJ. Alex
androff. The jury selected was COM
posed of six members of the civil ser
vice, two merchants and a noble
man, a school inspector, student
and an artist, and it acquitted her
promptly, amid the applause of the
audience, despite the evidence, her
avowal and the speeches Of the judge
and the prosecutor. The acquittal
provoked a general outburst Of ap-
pause from the press throughout
Russia. On July 8, 1873, Vera Sas-
sulitch appeared at Geneva, where she
was received in triumph by Rochefort
and his friends. She gave out that she
had been rearrested but permitted to
escape. 1t was reported for some time
that the Vera Of Geneva was an i'm
postor, and that the Russian Charlotte
Corday was really in Siberia, but,
finally, all doubts as to her identity
ceased. In December, 1879, she pub
ished statement to the effect that
her attempt on the generals life had
been made in pursuance Of orders from
the revolutionary committee, and that
she had been designated by lot as the
avenger. In February, 1880, her
arrest was said to have been effected
at st. Petersburg, but thereport proved
false, and she was repeatedly heard OF
thereafter at Geneva and Paris, push
ing on the Nihilist propaganda, and
active as one of the editors of the
Narodnaia Volta, well-known Mill
ist review.