Tsarist autocracy
Plekhanov was one of the organizers of the first political demonstrations in Russia. On 6 December 1876, Plekhanov delivered a fiery speech during a demonstration in front of the Kazan Cathedral in St.Petersburg in which he indicted the Tsarist autocracy and defended the ideas of Chernyshevsky. Thereafter, Plekhanov was forced by the fear of retribution to lead an underground life. He was arrested twice for his political activities, in 1877 and again in 1878, but released both times after only a short time in jail.