Philip Pomper is a leading scholar of 19th and 20th century Russia. His latest work is a study of Alexander (`Sasha') Ulyanov, who was executed for his role as one of the leaders of a failed assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander III in 1887. His motivation in becoming a terrorist is examined in the light of the evidence presented by Pomper and account is also taken of previous studies such as those by Thomas Masaryk. It is contended that the culture of nihilism and the concomitant worship of science were more important than anything in Ulyanov's family background in explaining his radicalization. The transition from theory to practice is explained by focusing on the psychological impact of the concept of the nihilist `new man' on the young student Alexander. Attention is also given to the significance of what has often been dismissed as a minor episode in the history of terrorism, one which would have faded from view but for the later fame of Ulyanov's younger brother, Vladimir Ilyich, who entered the mainstream of history as Lenin.
Philosophy, Psychology and History:The Making of a Suicidal Terrorist
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091-099_Peter Luff
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