Trial of the 32
Trial of the 32
(Case of Those Accused of Having Dealings With the London Propagandists), one of the most important political trials of the 1860’s in Russia. It was held from July 7, 1862, to Apr. 27, 1865. N. A. Serno-Solov’evich was the central figure in the trial. The main charge was collaboration with A. I. Herzen and N. P. Ogarev. The 32 were also charged with providing aid to V. I. Kel’siev during his illegal stay in Moscow and St. Petersburg in March and April 1862. The trial removed Serno-Solov’evich from the leadership of Land and Liberty and dealt an irreparable blow to Herzen’s and Ogarev’s conspiratorial ties with Russia. The Trial of the 32 attested to the tsarist regime’s shift to a policy of terror against revolutionary forces.
Four persons were sentenced to internal exile, four to exile from Russia, one to imprisonment, and five to police supervision. Sixteen persons were acquitted, and two died during the trial.