Speshnev, Nikolaĭ Aleksandrovich, 1821-1882

Nikolay Alexandrovich Speshnev (Russian: Николай Александрович Спе́шнев; 6 October 1821, Kursk – 29 March 1882, St. Petersburg) was a 19th-century Russian aristocrat and political activist, best known for his involvement with the pro-socialist literary discussion group the Petrashevsky Circle. He formed a secret revolutionary society from among the members of the circle, which included the young Fyodor Dostoevsky. After the government of Tsar Nicholas I arrested the members of the Petrashevsky Circle in 1849, Speshnev was interrogated, threatened with torture, and eventually sentenced, along with Dostoevsky, Petrashevsky and others, to execution by firing squad. The sentence was commuted to hard labour in Siberia, but the prisoners were only informed of this after enduring a mock execution. Dostoevsky drew on his experiences with Speshnev's secret society and the Petrashevsky Circle when writing his socio-political satire Demons. The novel's central character—Nikolay Stavrogin—is thought by many commentators to be partly based on Speshnev.