A false echo of the “Chigirin plot” in the life of senior conductor Chaykovskiy

The historical essay based on previously unknown documents from State Archive of the Russian Federation depicts the events which occurred in 1878 in the life of V. Chaikovskiy, a train senior conductor. The political police was informed that he had taken part in planning an escape from a prison in Kiev involving revolutionary narodniks participating in the “Chigirin plot”. As a result the quiet life of this Russian subject, Polish, Catholic and resident of the village of Kazatin was broken when he was charged with committing a political crime and held in custody. His case was investigated by gendarme officer G.P. Sudeykin, a celebrated political investigator. This example is used to reveal some social and policing mechanisms which can suddenly turn a “rank-and-file” man into a political defendant. It is concluded that “Chaikovskiy’s case” is typical of Russian history, with ordinary innocent people being victimized by the state’s policing and bureaucratic machine and punitive policy as a result of false accusations. The fair judgment passed in “Chaikovskiy’s case” was a rare exception from the common rule.