Sukhanov, Nikolai

Sukhanov, Nikolai Evgen’evich 

Born Oct. 24 (Nov. 5), 1851, in Riga; died Mar. 19 (31), 1882, in Kronstadt. Russian revolutionary. Narodnik (Populist).

Descended from the dvorianstvo (nobility), Sukhanov graduated from the St. Petersburg Naval School in 1872 and served as a naval lieutenant. In 1871 and 1872 he was a member of a secret revolutionary society of sailors. He was arrested in February 1872 but was freed for lack of evidence. In the autumn of 1879 he became a member of the executive committee of the People’s Will. He headed the military organization of the People’s Will and helped plan the assassination attempt on Alexander II on Mar. 1, 1881. Sukhanov was arrested on Apr. 28, 1881, and was tried at the Trial of the 20, at which he made a brilliant revolutionary speech. He was sentenced to death and shot.

REFERENCES

Zhukovskii-Zhuk, I. I. N. E. Sukhanov. Moscow, 1930.
Figner, V. N. Zapechatlennyi trud, vol. 1. Moscow, 1964.
Godunova, L. N. “Voennaia organizatsiia narodovol’tsev.” Voprosy istorii, 1973, no. 9.