Antoni Berezowski (May 9, 1847 in Avratin,

Volhynian Governorate Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

– 1916 in

Bourail Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Bourail is a rural town of Grande Terre, New Caledonia's main island. The municipality stretches between the mount ...

, New Caledonia) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

nationalist who made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Russian emperor Alexander II.

Biography

Anton Berezowski (Russian: Антон Иосифович Березовский) was the son of an impoverished Polish nobleman from the

Volyn Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...

region of north west Ukraine. His parents taught music. As a 16 year old, in 1863, he took part in the Polish revolt against Russian rule. He emigrated to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in 1865 where he worked in a metalwork workshop. In 1867 when

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finlan ...

arrived to Paris for the

World's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

, Berezowski conceived to kill him to liberate his native land. On June 6 at 5:00 p.m. at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

(in

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by ...

) he shot at the tsar who had just come back from a military review (together with the tsar there were two of his sons and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

, Emperor of the French). His double-barrelled pistol broke off at the shot, and the bullet, having deviated, wounded a horse of an accompanying Russian. Berezovsky, whose hand was wounded by the explosion, was seized by the crowd and arrested. In court on July 15 Berezovsky declared that his purpose in shooting at the tsar was to release his native land; he only expressed one regret, that it occurred in Poland-friendly France. Berezovsky avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to lifelong hard labor in New Caledonia on the island of Grand Terre. In 1886 hard labor was commuted to life. In 1906 he was pardoned, but did not wish to come back from New Caledonia, remaining there until his death in 1916.

References

*http://db.generiques.org/biographie/?bio=el&row=97
Berezowski Antoni – Encyklopedia PWN
at encyklopedia.pwn.pl

at portalwiedzy.onet.pl

*[http://www.pravda.ru/society/fashion/tendencies/06-06-2007/227145-sfrhkm-0 Иван Правдин. Покушение на российского императора совершил Березовский]
Д.Шерих. Березовский метил в царя
2009-10-25)
Березовский Антон Иосифович//Биография.ру
1847 births 1916 deaths People from Zhytomyr Oblast People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent 19th-century Polish nobility Failed regicides Polish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France Polish people imprisoned abroad Recipients of French presidential pardons 1867 crimes in Europe {{poland-noble-stub