The Russian radicals had reconsidered their approach, and in 1876 they had formed a propagandist organization called Land and Liberty (Zemlya i volya), which leans toward terrorism.
This orientation beocomes stronger three years later, when the group renames itself the People's Will (Narodnaya volya), the name under which the radicals are responsible for the assassination of Alexander II in 1881.
In 1879, Georgiy Plekhanov forms a propagandist faction of Land and Liberty called Black Repartition (Chernyy peredel), which advocates redistributing all land to the peasantry.
This group studies Marxism, which, paradoxically, is principally concerned with urban industrial workers.
The People's Will remainsunderground, but in 1887 a young member of the group, Aleksandr Ul'yanov, attempts to assassinate Alexander III, and authorities arrest and execut him.
The execution greatly affects Vladimir Ul'yanov, Aleksandr's brother.
Influenced by Chernyshevskiy's writings, Vladimir joinsthe People's Will, and later, inspired by Plekhanov, he converts to Marxism.
The younger Ul'yanov later changes his name to Lenin.
