The Perovskaia Paradox or the Scandal of Female Terrorism in Nineteenth Century Russia

Abstract

Female terrorism played a decisive role in the making of modern terrorism in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. Vera Zasulich pulled the trigger on Russian terrorism by shooting at the General governor Fedor Trepov in 1878 and Sofia Perovskaia was the mastermind behind the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, on the 1st of March 1881. This article explores how tsarist authorities and radicals were trying to make sense of the seemingly paradox of violent women. Both were stripping the violent deeds of women of their political content. Moreover the Perovskaia case can show how both sides were using the same set of gender ideals in order to either condemn or to worship the female terrorist.