Stepan Balmashov

In Autumn 1901, after a change in government policy, he was released from military supervision and moved to Kharkiv, where he attempted to gain entry to the university, but was barred because of his 'unreliability'.

During a month in Kharkiv, he made contact with revolutionaries, and became actively involved in both Marxist and populist circles, explaining that he did not see any significant differences between the Social Democrats and the Narodniks.

[1] In 1902, several Narodnik groups merged to form the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which included the SR Combat Organization headed by Grigory Gershuni, charged with assassinating government officials.

When Sipygan arrived, Balmashov positioned himself behind the minister and shot him several times, leaving him with serious injuries that resulted in his death an hour later.

[3] During his questioning, Balmashov stated that, "the method of combating a terrorist seems to me inhumane and cruel, but it's inevitable with the current regime", and refused to say anything else.