156


KUSSIAX  NIHILISM  AND


Directly  after  these  arrests  were  made  another  import-
ant step  was  taken  in  consequence  of  discoveries  made  in
examining  the  premises  and  opening  the  dynamite  mine
laid  in  Little  Garden  street.  It  was  proved  that  the
police  had  information  in  connection  with  the  mine,


TOMB  OF  THE  EMPEROR  IN  THE  FORTRESS  CHAPEL  ONE  WEFK  AFTER  BUK1AL,

which  if  utilized  would  have  led  to  the  arrest  of  the  con-
spirators and  prevented  the  Czar' s  assassination .  The  pub-
lic officers  accused  of  a  criminal  neglect  of  their  duties
were  Major  General  Constantine  Mrovinsky ;  Paul  Teg-
leff ,  chief  officer  of  the  Spassky  District ;  General  Fur-
soff,  chief  of  the  Secret  Section  of  the  Prefecture,  and


15<S  KUSSIAX  A 1 11 1  LI  SM  AND

two  State  Councillors.  It  was  asserted  that  Mrovinsky
had  been  instructed  by  Tegleff  to  make  a  thorough  in-
spection of  Kobezeff's  quarters,  whose  milk  and  cheese
shop  had  been  reported  as  being  a  headquarters  for  the
Nihilists.  This  investigation  was  not  made  by  Mrovin-
sky, while  Tegleff  was  charged  with  neglect  in  not  en-
forcing the  order,  as  he  had  direct  information  of  Kobe-
zeff's plot.  Fursoff  was  also  brought  to  trial  because  he
took  no  measures  to  verify  the  suspicions  which  had  been
communicated  to  him,  and  because  he  did  not  inform  his
superiors  of  what  was  taking  place  until  the  evening  of
the  assassination.  It  was  shown  that  the  three  officers
did  visit  Kobezeff's  shop,  but  that  fin  ding  his  papers  reg-
ular they  made  no  examination  of  the  premises.
It  was  three  days  after  the  assassination  before  the  police
entered  the  shop,  there  being  grave  fears  excited  that  an
attempt  to  do  so  would  cause  an  explosion  of  the  mine.
