Sofiya Perovskaya

Sofiya Perovskaya is a revolutionary hero in Russia. Here she is given a full appreciation, acknowledging her aristocratic roots, while admiring her sympathies for the Russian people (narodniki) and the seriousness of her purpose. With her lover and husband, Andrei Zhelyabov, she plots the murder of Czar Alexander II, carrying it to a final, fatal conclusion. [Note that the involvement of Lenin's brother with Perovskaya's revolutionary group, Narodnaya Volya (People's WIll), came at a later date, and had nothing to do with Perovskaya or the plot to kill Alexander II.]