Trial of the Sixteen (1880)
Encyclopedia
The Trial of the Sixteen ("Процесс 16-ти" in Russian
) was a trial
of sixteen members of the Narodnaya volya
in Russian Empire
on October 25-30 (November 6-11), 1880.
The trial took place at a district military court in St.Petersburg. Members of the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya - Aaron Zundelevich, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
and Stepan Shiryaev - were the principal defendant
s. Nikolai Bukh, S.A.Ivanova, Andrei Presnyakov and others were also on trial. All of the defendants were accused of being associated with the Narodnaya volya. Kvyatkovsky was also incriminated with planning two assassination
attempts on the tsar
on April 2, 1879 and February 5, 1880. Shiryaev was also accused of planning to murder the tsar on November 19, 1879. Later on, it turned out that I.F.Okladsky was agent provocateur
. As a result, Kvyatkovsky and Presnyakov were sentenced to death, four other people - to eternal katorga
, 6 other - to 4 to 20 years of katorga, and the remaining four - to Siberia
n exile
.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
) was a trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
of sixteen members of the Narodnaya volya
Narodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya was aRussian left-wing terrorist organization, best known for the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It created a centralized and well disguised organization in a time of diverse liberation movements in Russia...
in Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
on October 25-30 (November 6-11), 1880.
The trial took place at a district military court in St.Petersburg. Members of the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya - Aaron Zundelevich, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kvyatkovsky was a Russian revolutionary and member of the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya....
and Stepan Shiryaev - were the principal defendant
Defendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s. Nikolai Bukh, S.A.Ivanova, Andrei Presnyakov and others were also on trial. All of the defendants were accused of being associated with the Narodnaya volya. Kvyatkovsky was also incriminated with planning two assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
attempts on the tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
on April 2, 1879 and February 5, 1880. Shiryaev was also accused of planning to murder the tsar on November 19, 1879. Later on, it turned out that I.F.Okladsky was agent provocateur
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
. As a result, Kvyatkovsky and Presnyakov were sentenced to death, four other people - to eternal katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
, 6 other - to 4 to 20 years of katorga, and the remaining four - to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
.