Chernyshev, Pavel Feoktistovich

Born circa 1854 in Samara Province; died the night of Mar. 26–27 (Apr. 8–9), 1876, in St. Petersburg. Russian Narodnik (Populist) revolutionary.

Chernyshev, who was of noble birth, attended the Medical and Surgical Academy. He was an organizer and the treasurer of the St. Petersburg student circle known as the Samartsy, and he took part in the “going to the people” movement. Arrested in Samara on Aug. 30,1874, Chernyshev was sent to prison, where he contracted tuberculosis. He was released on bail on Mar. 11, 1876, and died in a hospital. He is buried in Volkovo Cemetery.

Chernyshev’s funeral on Mar. 30,1876, turned into a large antigovernment demonstration. G. A. Machtet dedicated the poem “Succumbed to the ordeal of imprisonment” (“The Last Farewell”) to Chernyshev’s memory. The poem became a song popular among young Russian revolutionaries.