"...An explosion thundered

From the Catherine Canal,

Covering Russia with a cloud.

Everything from afar foretold,

That the fateful hour would come,

That such a card would be drawn...

And this hour of the century’s day —

The last — was named the first of March"

The launched machine of the hunt for the emperor was approaching its finish. On Sunday, March 1, 1881, the emperor was preparing for the weekly review of the guard units at the Mikhailovsky Manege, where he had not been for several weeks. Agents reported that another assassination attempt was being prepared against the tsar. The Narodnaya Volya members monitored all movements of Alexander II, with the results collected by Sofya Perovskaya. After the arrest of Perovskaya’s beloved Andrey Zhelyabov, the Narodnaya Volya decided to liquidate the emperor. A few hours before the assassination, Perovskaya drew up the plan for the attempt. The terrorists knew the route thoroughly and had a map of all the emperor’s movements.

Alexander II traveled to the Manege by two routes: the first — through the arch of the General Staff onto Nevsky Prospect, then turning left to Malaya Sadovaya, then straight to the Manege; the second — across the entire Palace Square to the Singing Bridge, then along the Moika Embankment through Konyushennaya Square along the Catherine Canal, then left along Inzhenernaya and Italian Streets. The emperor himself chose the route at the last moment.

The Narodnaya Volya prepared for the assassination for six months. It was decided to make a tunnel on Malaya Sadovaya. To carry out their plan, the Narodnaya Volya rented a shop at the corner of Malaya Sadovaya and Nevsky under the guise of a peasant family from Voronezh Province. The tunnel was dug up to the middle of the street, and it was decided to place the bomb there. The earth from the tunnel was hidden in a Turkish divan and cheese barrels. Ten days before the assassination, the shop attracted attention: neighbors were disturbed that the peasant’s wife flaunted in city clothes and smoked cigarettes. Police came to inspect the shop but found nothing suspicious.

It was impossible to dig a tunnel on the second route because there were continuous squares, embankments, and government buildings everywhere, so it was necessary to use suicide bombers. Nikolay Kibalchich (party pseudonym — Technician), a young man with the makings of a great scientist, volunteered to make the bomb. At home, he conducted a hundred experiments with explosive chemicals and developed a very effective bomb based on fulminating jelly. Working with it required caution: at the slightest mistake, an explosion could occur.

Kibalchich had incredible stamina: he made bombs for 15 hours straight, risking blowing himself up every minute. By 10 a.m., four bombs were ready.

The guard review ended, Alexander got into the carriage. "To the Mikhailovsky Palace via the Singing Bridge," said the emperor. The terrorists miscalculated: the tsar would not go where the tunnel was dug. Half an hour later, the emperor left the palace, got into the carriage, and said to the coachman: "The same way home."

On the morning of the assassination, all four took bombs wrapped in white handkerchiefs from the safe house. If the tsar returned via Malaya Sadovaya, their help was not needed; the mine buried in the tunnel would be triggered. Frolenko was waiting for this purpose in the cheese shop. If the sovereign chose another route, Perovskaya waved her handkerchief to her fighters, ordering them to prepare for the attack.

At 14:15, the carriage turned onto the embankment of the Catherine Canal. Mikhailov was supposed to throw the bomb first, but he chickened out and went home, so the terrorist attack was carried out by Rysakov, a 19-year-old student. At 14:20, the carriage passed three meters from Nikolay Rysakov, who threw the bomb, which exploded under the rear wheels. The emperor was unharmed; Rysakov himself was thrown by the blast wave against the canal fence. The coachman tried to drive Alexander II away from the scene, but the tsar ordered to stop. The officers of the cortege rushed to the emperor’s carriage. Rysakov was detained. The emperor, staggering, got out of the carriage. The police chief insisted that Alexander II return to the palace as soon as possible, but the tsar wanted to see the criminal. He approached Rysakov; meanwhile, the Cossacks were in the saddles, as there was no command to dismount: no one but the emperor had the right to command the guard.

Being confident that the danger had passed, since this was the sixth attempt, Alexander II also wanted to see the crater.

Suddenly, Grinevitsky jumped out of the crowd, whom they simply did not have time to stop, and threw a bomb at point-blank range, by the explosion of which he himself was mortally wounded. "...among the snow, debris, and blood were visible remnants of torn clothing, an epaulet, sabers, and bloody pieces of flesh." The blast wave threw Alexander II to the ground; blood flowed heavily from his shattered legs. The fallen emperor whispered: "Take me to the palace... There I want to die..." Yemelyanov did not have to get involved, but he went to look at Grinevitsky and even helped lay the mortally wounded sovereign in the sleigh, after which he left.

Alexander II was taken to the palace; no help was given to him before arrival, not even tourniquets were applied. He died at 3:35 p.m.; Grinevitsky died the same day. Thus, the investigation had a living terrorist, Rysakov, and the presumed organizer of the attack, Zhelyabov. Rysakov did not resist and honestly gave up everyone he knew. Zhelyabov, fearing that all the glory would go to Rysakov, also began to testify against himself (though he remained silent about those who were still free). Rysakov honestly indicated the location of the safe house where the killers received bombs. A search was conducted there, and two were found: Nikolay Sablin and Gesya Gelfman. Sablin managed to shoot himself while the gendarmes were breaking down the door. Later, Gelfman was sentenced to death but claimed she was pregnant. This was confirmed, and the sentence was canceled; however, a noisy protest campaign against the monstrous atrocities of the tsarist regime still took place in Europe.

Perovskaya was detained near the house where Zhelyabov was taken; she was identified and arrested a week after Mikhailov. A week later, the bomb technician Kibalchich was caught. Three weeks after the explosion, most of the active organizers and participants of the assassination attempt were behind bars.

Later, the Church of the Savior on Blood was built at the site of the assassination.

Sources:

https://sputnikipogrom.com/history/52094/the-emperor-hunt/

https://www.gazeta.ru/science/2016/04/16_a_8170349.shtml

https://redstory.ru/46-7-pokusheniy-na-aleksandra-ii.html