Dmitry Bogrov
Encyclopedia
Dmitry Grigoriyevich Bogrov (1887 – 24 September 1911) was the assassin
of the Russian Prime Minister
Pyotr Stolypin
.
Born Mordekhai Gershkovich Bogrov (Мордехай Гершкович Богров)
into a family of Jewish merchants in Kiev
(Russian Empire
), Bogrov, while simultaneously acting as an anarchist revolutionary, had been an agent of the Okhrana secret police
since 1906, informing on the activities of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats and anarchists
.
On 14 September 1911, Dmitry Bogrov shot the Russian Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin, in the Kiev Opera House
, in front of Tsar
Nicholas II
and two of his daughters. (Stolypin died four days later.) This act was ostensibly accomplished in order to decapitate a successful and popular conservative reform movement and thus hasten violent revolution
. Bogrov was also attempting to stop the anti-Jewish pogrom
s that Stolypin was inciting. However, it has been alleged that Bogrov was permitted to act at the behest of extreme right-wing elements in the Tsarist secret police who detested Stolypin because of his agrarian reforms and his flair for parliamentary government. (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
extensively investigates and gives full credit to this conjecture in his famous historical novel August 1914.)
Bogrov was tried by the district military court. Despite the plea of Stolypin's widow to the court to save Bogrov's life (she said that taking the young man's life would not bring her husband back), Bogrov was sentenced to death and executed by hanging
on in the Kiev fortress of Lysa Hora.
Significantly, the investigation of Stolypin's assassination was later discontinued at the express order of Nicholas II.
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...
of the Russian Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Stolypin
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin served as the leader of the 3rd DUMA—from 1906 to 1911. His tenure was marked by efforts to repress revolutionary groups, as well as for the institution of noteworthy agrarian reforms. Stolypin hoped, through his reforms, to stem peasant unrest by creating a class of...
.
Born Mordekhai Gershkovich Bogrov (Мордехай Гершкович Богров)
into a family of Jewish merchants in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
(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...
), Bogrov, while simultaneously acting as an anarchist revolutionary, had been an agent of the Okhrana secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
since 1906, informing on the activities of Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats and anarchists
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
.
On 14 September 1911, Dmitry Bogrov shot the Russian Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin, in the Kiev Opera House
Kiev Opera
The Kiev Opera group was formally established in the summer of 1867, and is the third oldest in Ukraine, after Odessa Opera and Lviv Opera. Today, the Kiev Opera Company performs at the National Opera House of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko in Kiev....
, in front of 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...
Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
and two of his daughters. (Stolypin died four days later.) This act was ostensibly accomplished in order to decapitate a successful and popular conservative reform movement and thus hasten violent revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. Bogrov was also attempting to stop the anti-Jewish pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s that Stolypin was inciting. However, it has been alleged that Bogrov was permitted to act at the behest of extreme right-wing elements in the Tsarist secret police who detested Stolypin because of his agrarian reforms and his flair for parliamentary government. (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
extensively investigates and gives full credit to this conjecture in his famous historical novel August 1914.)
Bogrov was tried by the district military court. Despite the plea of Stolypin's widow to the court to save Bogrov's life (she said that taking the young man's life would not bring her husband back), Bogrov was sentenced to death and executed by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
on in the Kiev fortress of Lysa Hora.
Significantly, the investigation of Stolypin's assassination was later discontinued at the express order of Nicholas II.