The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-03-04
HOW RUSSIAN Got
LIFE SENTENCE
Soldier Appeals to Czar and
Is Imprisoned.
MERELY OFFERED PETITION.

Details of Brutal Oppression of Soldier
Who Sought Leave to Aid Family
Como to Lisht-Is Charged as Would
Be Assassin and Convicted-Tales of
Cruelty In Dungeon Are Told.
Cable dispatches recently reported the
case of a Russian soldier who tried to
hand a petition to the czar while he
was reviewing the troops on the field Of
Khodinka, near Moscow. The soldier
was arrested, tried and sentenced to
Imprisonment for this offense. The
full details of the case have just be-
come public now and are found in the
indictment presented before the court
which found the soldier guilty and SEN
fenced him to the galleys for life
The name of the soldier is Gregory
Bakhurin. On Oct. %, 1912, Bakhurin
was tried in Smolensk. The trial was
conducted behind closed doors, but a
copy of the indictment found it's way
into some of the Russian newspapers,
and the case attracted much attention.
Last summer while the emperor was
NV iS wing lLiC IIOOpS Oh Illc AuOuluhd
field Bakhurin, who was a private in
the Sophisky regiment, ran out of the
line and tried to hand a petition to the
emperor. Some of the officers made
an attempt to stop Bakhurin, but he
eluded them and rushed up to the en-
peror, holding the petition in his hand.
The document was taken from him by
one Of the Cossacks.
Is Described as Assassin.
At the trial the minister of war, Cen
eral Sukhamlinov, the commander of
the Warsaw district; General Scalon
and Colonel Tkachenko of the Sophisky
regiment gave their testimony. Ac-
cording to their statements Bakhurin
left the line suddenly, holding his gun
In his right hand and running directly
toward the emperor. While thus rum
ming he drew from his pocket a paper
and raised it in his left hand.
The minister of war on noticing this
rushed over to the soldier and caught
hold of the collar of his blouse Bak-
hurin commenced to struggle Bak-
hurin, according to the generals testi-
mony, was greatly agitated, and he
kept repeating:
Let me go to the czarr'
Having torn himself away from the
minister of war, Bakhurin ran off in
the direction of the czar's suit Then
General Scalon galloped over to Bak-
hurin and, seizing him by the left
hand, ordered him to hand over the pc
tition, but Bakhurin insisted that he
must give 1t himself to the czar, and
he tore himself away from General
Scalon's grasp.
In the meantime other officers rush
ed over to Bakhurin, and Colonel Tka-
chenko succeeded in taking the gun
away from Bakhurin. The colonel tess
| titled that he had to make an effort in
order to get the gun away. He ex-
planned, however, that the soldier in
all probability clutched the weapon
instinctively.
Bakhurin was kicked by the colo
nel's horse and fell to the ground. But
he jumped up quickly and ran off
again. Stopping in front of the EN-
peror's horse, he knelt and stretched
out the hand in which he held his pc
tition.
Wanted to Aid Family.
A Cossack hurried over to the SOL
dier and took the petition from his
hand. In his petition Bakhurin beg
ged the czar to free him from military
service on account of misfortunes that
had befallen his family and added that
he was the only support of the family.
The officers and soldiers of his regi-
ment testified that Bakhurin was
known among them as a rather intelli-
gent and religious man, but that he was
always uncOmmunicative and taciturn.
The soldier himself testified that he
knew he had no right to do what he
did, but he thought the emperor would
forgive him and would grant the re-
quest which he made in his petition.
Bakhurin was deprived of all rights
and was sentenced to Imprisonment for
life at hard labor.
| A letter smuggled past the authori-
ties from the prison Of Oryol, where
this man is held, tells of awful brutali-
ties. The writer declares that prison
guards daily beat the inmates insensi-
BILE with keys and that the latter are
| starved and held in chains.