Foreign critics—those in the pay of the Russian Government—frequently stigmatise Nihilists as frenzied enthusiasts who seek to reform society and reconstitute their country by the aid of dynamite and bombshells. Nevertheless, although the means employed may, perhaps, appear reprehensible, yet the majority of patriotic Englishmen are in sympathy with the cause of Russian freedom. Have we not had many examples thrust upon us of the tyranny and callousness of the late Tzar? When the Lord Mayor, representing the City of London, petitioned his Imperial Majesty regarding the inhuman treatment of Jews, what answer did he receive? The representative of English liberty was snubbed; the petition was returned with a curt reply that Russian Jews did not concern the Lord Mayor. Such an illustration of Muscovite despotism should be borne in mind by those who look upon Nihilists as murderers. Our object is to free our beloved country from the terrible yoke. In the great sorrow-stricken land, tens of thousands of our countrymen groan beneath the curse of infamous laws and the burden of unjust taxation. The young Tzar on his throne is powerless, his myrmidons who surround him keep their grip upon the desolated country, and no man can breathe with absolute freedom. The police are infamous spies who will sell a man’s life for a few kopecks; the magistracy is corrupt, and justice a burlesque. Poverty, misery, and starvation are rampant, and happiness is unknown, beneath the crushing weight of this monstrous form of despotism. The so-called Nihilists desire to free their country from this curse, and would do it by peaceable means, and without bloodshed, were it possible. But it is not, and therefore the Executive are compelled to be merciless, and are determined to strike enemies of Russia without pity or remorse. To sweep the Autocrat from his throne, to break his power, to destroy the corrupt ministers and infamous advisers by whom he is surrounded, to bring enlightenment, peace, and freedom to millions of honest, God-fearing men, women, and children in Russia, are the objects and aims of those who are so frequently designated as murderers. Yet the work goes on, silently, steadily, deadly. Each day brings the power of the Tzar’s nearer its disastrous termination; each day increases the hopes of those thousands of “political suspects” buried alive in Siberian snow-drifts; each night brings us nearer the dawn of a bright and prosperous day. Already my readers have learnt the reason I, Anton Prèhznev, loyal soldier of his Imperial Majesty, became transformed into a revolutionist. My case is but one of many thousands. In Russia, one must be either a flunkey or a Nihilist, and most persons prefer to work for the cause of freedom.