Ivan Platonovich Kalyayev (; 6 July 1877 – 23 May 1905) was a Russian poet, a member of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. He is best known for his role in the assassination of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, which was an operation of the

SR Combat Organization The Combat Organization (, BO) was the Terrorism, terrorist wing of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (PSR) in the Russian Empire, active from 1902 to 1907. Established by the PSR Central Committee, its primary purpose was to carry out political a ...

. Arrested at the scene, Kalyayev was convicted of murder and hanged.

Early life

Kalyayev was born in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

into the family of a Russian police inspector father Platon Kalyaev and a Polish mother Zofia Piotrowska who was the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. He attended Saint Petersburg University from (1897), but soon became involved in student protests, was briefly imprisoned, and then expelled from the University and sent into exile in Ekaterinoslav. Thereafter he tried to return to University, but was denied entrance due to his political activities. Kalyayev became a member of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

's Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class and when he was 24, he joined the

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP) or the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP), was a socialist political party founded in 1898 in Minsk, Russian Empire. The ...

but soon broke with them, dissatisfied with what he considered "just talk", i.e.

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

that did not lead to direct action. After serving his term he went to

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

) to continue his education at Lemberg University, and became involved with the Russian emigrant revolutionaries there. He was soon arrested in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with revolutionary literature intended for

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The German government transferred Kalyayev to Russia. After a short imprisonment in

, Kalyayev was exiled to

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

Bomber

In Yaroslavl, Kalyayev befriended the Socialist-Revolutionaries and writers

Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organ ...

and Aleksey Remizov, and decided to completely devote his life to revolutionary actions. At that time Kalyayev became convinced that political terror was the only way to realize his political ideas. He met Evno Azef, the commander of the

and volunteered to perform political assassinations. Kalyayev served as backup in the assassination of

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

Vyacheslav Pleve. However, Pleve was killed by another member of the team, Yegor Sozonov, and Kalyayev did not ultimately need to use his

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

. The next to be killed was the

General-Governor Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and uncle of Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

Assassination of Grand Duke Sergei

The assassination was planned for 15 February 1905. On that day, the Duke was to visit a

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

show that was a fundraiser for the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. Kalyayev was supposed to attack the carriage as it approached the theatre. Everything went as expected. Kalyaev was about to throw his bomb at the carriage of the Grand Duke, but he noticed that Sergei Alexandrovich's wife ( Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fyodorovna) and young niece and nephew (children of the Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich) were also in the carriage, and he aborted the assassination. He carried out the assassination two days later, killing the Grand Duke and his

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

as the Grand Duke was approaching his official residence in the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. Kalyayev was arrested immediately.

Aftermath

According to Edvard Radzinsky,

"Elizabeth spent all the days before the burial in ceaseless prayer. On her husband's tombstone she wrote: 'Father, release them, they know not what they do.' She understood the words of the Gospels heart and soul, and on the eve of the funeral she demanded to be taken to the prison where Kalyayev was being held. Brought into his cell, she asked, 'Why did you kill my husband?' 'I killed Sergei Alexandrovich because he was a weapon of tyranny. I was taking revenge for the people.' 'Do not listen to your pride. Repent... and I will beg the Sovereign to give you your life. I will ask him for you. I myself have already forgiven you.' On the eve of revolution, she had already found a way out; forgiveness! Forgive through the impossible pain and blood -- and thereby stop it then, at the beginning, this bloody wheel. By her example, poor Ella appealed to society, calling upon the people to live in Christian faith. 'No!" replied Kalyayev. 'I do not repent. I must die for my deed and I will... My death will be more useful to my cause than Sergei Alexandrovich's death.' Kalyayev was sentenced to death. 'I am pleased with your sentence,' he told the judges. 'I hope that you will carry it out just as openly and publicly as I carried out the sentence of the
Socialist Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia. The party memb ...
. Learn to look the advancing revolution right in the face.'"

Kalyayev was hanged on 23 May 1905. This incident formed the basis for

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

' 1949 play '' Les Justes''.

Poetry

Ivan Kalyayev was known to his friends by the nickname ''Poet'' and wrote several verses and prose. During his exile to

in 1902, Kalyayev, together with Aleksey Remizov, translated poems in prose by the Polish author Stanisław Przybyszewski. After his execution, the Socialist-Revolutionary Party published Kalyayev's book of poetry. His poetry was even included (without naming the author) in a popular reader.Alib.ru
/ref> Today his works have been almost completely forgotten. A sample of Kalyayev's poetry is his ''Prayer''.

References