Grigori Volka

## Viktor Hansson "Grigori Volka"

**Viktor Hansson** (1883-) was a member of the underground anti-monarchist communist organization, the Novaya Karoleva founded by Anya Douleur. He was more commonly known by his alias Grigori Volka.

## Bio

Born in Rosingrad, he grew up to have a comfortable childhood in a quite bourgeoise conservative upbringing. His father was a successful lawyer and his mother was once a part-time grammar teacher. He was sent by his father to study under a partial scholarship a the St.Romovna University. His mother died a few years later from illness.

## Students/People's Voice

While at the university he was a member of a secret student organization called Student's Voice led by his friend Andrei Lebel that had over 200 members. While involved in that group he met and fell in love with a former student training to be a midwife, Sofia Petrov. The student group also printed a weekly journal that circulated in the student body discussing student grievances, especially over the President of the university.

On February 8th 1903, the anniversary of the university's founding, there was a traditional street party in the streets in celebration. Student's Voice organized a student strike, the first ever in the university's history against the university's strict rules on student uniforms and appearances, military drills, harsh discipline, etc but it came to nothing.

A few more strikes were held the following years that had to be broken up by police. The last of on February 8th of 1905 turned violent which led to a ban on street parties by the Minister of Education and any students would be arrested for hooliganism.

The organization's goals grew to demands of educational reform and academic freedom. On March 15th of 1905 another strike was organized which led to student arrests and caused the temporary closure of the university. The strike only ended after the President promised to petition the police to released the arrested students. The President ended up banning all student meetings without permission which caused another strike. The university closed again and all students were suspended and had to petition for re-entry on the condition they stayed out of student groups. Many of those involved in Student's Voice were expelled and he was disowned by his father.

## Telza Street

Student's Voice, then called People's Voice, continued to meet in secret in the apartments owned by Tatiana Heffman and Nikolai Slotts as a "married" couple on Telza Street where they lived communally. Andrei Lebel and People's Voice focused on spreading propaganda among works and intellectual circles. Eventually the group became more violent and terroristic as they saw that peaceful protests did nothing and believed a spark was needed to ignite a vast uprising against the monarchy.

People's Voice planned to assassinate King Frederik III with a bomb while he travelled. Though People's Voice only had 500 members of mostly informal followers. Their failure to spread outside the city is likely due to their loose organization and extreme beliefs.

Nikolai Reizkov was arrested in August of 1905 for spreading revolutionary propaganda to steel workers in St.Romovna. In an attempt to save his life, he cooperated with the police and gave them the names of all those he knew in People's Voice. The police raided the apartments of Nikolai Slotts, who committed suicide after firing at police and Tatiana was arrested along with Viktor, Andrei Lebel, Sophia Petrov, and Mikhail Timofev.

## Trial of the 200

The arrest of the leaders of People's Voice led to the Trial of the 200 in September of 1905, which consisted of the trials of all current and ex-students who were charged with either trying to cause unrest during the university strikes, spreading propaganda, or attempted regicide. Only the top leadership were executed as most of the member's had no proven connected with the planned assassination of Frederik III.

At his trial, Viktor was charged with "intent to spread terrorism" and "joining an illegal community with the aim of overthrowing in a more or less distant future the government and state" as Nikolai Reizkov didn't name him as a plotter to assassinate King Frederik III but did testify that he printed propaganda. He was exiled from St.Romovna and Belinsky and was sentenced to serve five years hard labor in the shipyards of Alingsky but he was able to escape after he jumped from the train that he was being transported on.

## The Novaya Karoleva

Forced to lay low in Rosingrad, he assumed the alias of Grigori Volka both because the authorities were looking for him and because he thought it safer if he went by an alias while working with the Novaya Karoleva. He got involved in the Novaya Karoleva while working in a printing shop owned by Harvey Stein.

## Family

Father: Viktor Hansson

Mother: Irina Hansson (**DECEASED)**

## Trivia

* Works as a tutor for children sometimes because homebody still needs to pay rent and I don't think the printing press pays him enough.