The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-02-25
Grand Duke Sergius, the Russian
Tyrant, Laid Low in Moscow.
LITERALLY BLOWN TO PIECES
The Assassin, Watching His Oppor-
tunity. Hurled His Bomb Di-
rectly Beneath the Grand
Dukes Carriage.

almost underneath the historical tow
er from which Ivan the Terrible
! watched the heads of his enemies fall
ing beneath the axe on the famous red
square, n within a stones throw of
the great bell of Moscow, Grand Duke
SergiuS, uncle and brother-in-law of
Emperor Nicholas and the chief of the
reactionaries, met a terrible death
shortly before three o'clock Friday
afternoon. The deed was committed
by a single terrorist. who threw be-
meath the carriage of the grand duke
a bomb charged with h same high
power explosive which wrought Min
lister Won Plehve's death. The missile
was packed with nails and fragments
Of iron. and its explosion tore the i'm
perial victims body TO CHASTITY frag-
ments, which strewed the n for
yards around. Every window in the
great lofty facade of the palace of jus
tice was shattered and bits of iron
were imbedded deeply in the walls Of
the arsenal.
Grand Duke Sergius died under a
formal sentence passed by the Mos
COW terrorists, December u. 1904.
BY the same decree of death Cznr
Nicholas. the Czarinn. Ma
ria Fcodorovnn. Grand Duke Alexis,
Pr"curator OF the Holy synod Po-
bicdonostseT, Gov.-Gen. TrepoT, OF
st. Petersburg. and Minister of the
Interior BoIignn are condemned.
The murderer of Grand Duke Sergius
was badly injured by the same eXplO-
sion which killed his victim. He and
a Communion were arrested
What does it matter?" said the
wounded man, lightly. I've done my
work"
Assassin Follows Victim.
The Grand Duke Sergius was fol-
lowed by his assassin for some time be-
fore a favorable opportunity offered for
the hurting of the fatal bomb.
Sergius was driving, at the time OF
his death, from the Nicholas palace to
the Kremlin. where he has lived for
several weeks past. Behind his car
riage. as it passed through the senate
quarter, were two cabs.
Just in front of the law courts a
sleigh suddenly drew across the road
in front of the grand duke, forcing his
coachman to pull up.
As he did so one of the cabs shot
forward and a a jumping to his feet
and leaning we'll forward, hurled the
bomb directly under the grand duke $
carriage.
The explosion broke every window
in the law courts. The carriage was
torn to fragments. The grand duke
was thrown high in the air. His
coachman was so badly injured that he
.!;o1 ~, tho NO " IN tho hncDitaJ
Widow Hastens to Scene.
The instant she was old of her hus-
bands death, the Grand Duchess
Elizabeth FASTENED to the scene Of his
assassination, not ever stopping to put
on a hat or cloak.
Unlike her husband, who was among
the most bitterly hated Of the Russian
aristocrats, the grand duchess is fair
ly worshipped by the people.
She has recently received several
warnings never to appear with the
grand duke, proving c~onclusively, the
authorities say, that his murder was
planned weeks ahead.
1t is a significant fact that Sergius'
assassination was carried out in al
most the same manner as that of the
late Minister of the Interior Won
Plehve.
Following the murder the crowd
made a demonstration against a num-
Der of students, who instantly began
to scatter revolutionary literature. A
large number of students were ar
rested.
One OF the assassins was arrested by
a policeman. who overlook him as he
was running from the scene of the as
s~assinatiOn. The man carried a revolt
yer, but made no attempt to use it.
He expressed qualification that the
Grand Duchess Elizabeth was not &C
companying her husband, Grand Duke
Sergius, when the duke was killed.
At the moment of the explosion, ),
Grand Duchess Elizabeth was at the
Kremlin. experimenting work for the
wounded at the front, and was about
to proceed to the residence of the gov
ernor general, expecting to meet her
husband there. Her carriage was
waiting outside the Kremlin. Prayers
for the murdered grand duke were held
: later in the evening, Grand Duchess
Elizabeth and civil and military Off
GERS being present.
The body Of Grand Duke SergiuE
. will be buried in the cathedral of the
{ fortress of Saints Peter and Paur.
) The extra newspapers nnoun the
death of Grand Duke Sergius by the
: explosion of a bomb, but give no de
tails.
The body will probably lie in state
several days in the church Of the AS
~cension in the Kremlin. where Emper
or Nicholas was crowned. Thence i
will be brought to St. Petersburg an
placed in the Romanoff mausoleum il
! the great cathedral of Saints Peter ant
| Paul. inside the fortress.