Page "History of Russia" Paragraph 88

While the Narodnik movement was gaining momentum, the government quickly moved to extirpate it.

In response to the growing reaction of the government, a radical branch of the Narodniks advocated and practiced terrorism.

One after another, prominent officials were shot or killed by bombs.

This represented the ascendancy of anarchism in Russia as a powerful revolutionary force.

Finally, after several attempts, Alexander II was assassinated by anarchists in 1881, on the very day he had approved a proposal to call a representative assembly to consider new reforms in addition to the abolition of serfdom designed to ameliorate revolutionary demands.