The murder of Ignatii raises many questions, some of which were raised almost immediately by the St. Petersburg-based journal, Sibirskie voprosy (Siberian questions).
Bishop Makarii in Siberia. Photo via wikimedia commons
The murder occurred the night of May 8/9, 1909, and the suspects were arrested on the 9th. Many supporters of Ignatii, according to Sibirskie voprosy, gathered around the school, calling for a pogrom (like the 1905 pogrom in Tomsk – subject of another post!) against the students of the school. The murder investigation concluded quickly, and it was passed to a temporary session of the military district court. The court heard the case in November, 1909, and the two students were sentenced to death, commuted to katorga.