Lenin's elder brother: a gold-medal zoologist who turned from studying worms to building bombs for the assassination of Alexander III
To his mother, who urged him to petition for clemency: "Imagine, Mama, two men standing in a duel. One has already fired at his opponent, the other has not. The one who has already fired cannot ask his opponent not to use his weapon."
Elder brother of Vladimir Lenin. A brilliant zoology student who won a gold medal at St. Petersburg University for his dissertation on segmented worms, Ulyanov abruptly turned to revolutionary politics in 1886, becoming the main ideologue and bomb-maker of the 'Terrorist Faction' of Narodnaya Volya. He masterminded the attempted assassination of Tsar Alexander III on 1 March 1887, the 'Second First of March', and was arrested, tried, and hanged at Shlisselburg Fortress on 8 May 1887, aged 21. His execution shattered his family and drove his 17-year-old brother Vladimir onto the revolutionary path that would lead to 1917.
Career Timeline
- 1883Graduated Simbirsk Classical Gymnasium with gold medal
- 1883–1886Studied natural sciences at St. Petersburg University; won gold medal for zoology dissertation on Annelida
- 1886Joined Narodnaya Volya; organized the 'Terrorist Faction' as its main ideologue and bomb-maker
- 1887.02Wrote the Terrorist Faction program; prepared bombs for assassination of Alexander III
- 1887.03–05Arrested 1 March; tried 15–19 April; hanged at Shlisselburg Fortress on 8 May
The Trial and Final Speech
On 15–19 April 1887, a Special Senate Tribunal tried Ulyanov and 14 co-defendants. Ulyanov refused counsel and conducted his own defense, arguing that under Russian autocracy, terror was the only weapon a minority could wield against state violence: "We cannot fight this regime in open battle, because it is too firmly entrenched and commands enormous powers of repression. Therefore, any individual sensitive to injustice must resort to terror." To shield his comrades, he confessed to acts he had not committed, and declared that "there is no death more honourable than death for the common good." His mother Maria Alexandrovna petitioned Alexander III for clemency; it was denied. At 3:30 a.m. on 8 May, Ulyanov and four comrades were hanged at Shlisselburg Fortress. The gallows had been secretly assembled outside the prison walls; with only three scaffolds, the execution was carried out in two batches.