Trial of the 28

Trial of the 28

 

a trial of revolutionary Narodniki (Populists), held in the Odessa Military District Court from July 25 (Aug. 6) to Aug. 5(17), 1879. The central figure in the trial was D. A. Lizogub. The accused was charged with membership in a “Socialist Revolutionary party.” In addition, S. Ia. Vittenberg and I. I. Logovenko were charged with “intent to commit regicide.” Three of the defendants wavered in their testimony, while the others, including the 14-year old V. L. Gukovskaia, conducted themselves heroically and exposed the “white terror” of tsarism. The letters written by Lizogub and Vittenberg before their execution were smuggled to the outside and became weapons of revolutionary agitation. The Trial of the 28 provoked a strong response in Russia and abroad.

Five persons—Lizogub, Vittenberg, Logovenko, I. Ia. Davi-denko, and S. F. Chubarov—were sentenced to death, four to hard labor for life, 12 to hard labor for four to 20 years, and seven to exile in Siberia.

REFERENCES

Iastremskii, S. V. “D. A. Lizogub.” Katorga i ssylka, 1924, book 11.
Moreinis, M. A. “S. Ia. Vittenberg i protsess 28-mi.” Katorga i ssylka, 1929, book 56.
Arkhiv “Zemli i voli” i “Narodnoi voli.” [Moscow, 1932.] Pages 106–110. (Letters of D. A. Lizogub from prison.)