Stepan Balmashov

Balmashov was born in Arkhangelsk, into a political family. His parents were Narodniks who had been sent into administrative exile in Arkhangelsk. In 1900, he entered the Kiev Imperial University and immediately became involved in the student movement, which was undergoing a revival. The government's response to student unrest was to issue a decree ordering 183 students to surrender to the army. In January 1901, Balmashov was arrested as one of the leaders of the disturbances, and spent three months in prison. After his release, he was confined to Roslavl in Smolensk province, under military supervision. 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. Returning to Kiev, he was readmitted to university, despite his past record. However, there was soon another outbreak of student disturbances, followed by a crackdown and mass deportation of students to Siberia, for which Balmashov blamed the Minister, Sipyagin.^[1]