“Vera Ivanovna Zasulich was accused of the attempted murder of the St. Petersburg mayor, General Trepov, committed by her by shooting a pistol on January 24, 1878. The prosecuting authority qualified Zasulich’s crime as deliberate, with premeditated intent. The true motive for this crime was Zasulich’s indignation at the lawless actions General Trepov, who gave the order to flog the political prisoner Bogolyubov, who was kept in a pre-trial detention house, with rods. General Trepov's action was widely discussed in the press and various public circles. The most advanced of them assessed this act as a cruel act of violence, arbitrariness and outrage against the human person, incompatible with the principles of humanity. The shot by V. Zasulich sounded as an expression of protest against the actions of General Trepov on the part of the progressive public...”