Pale Horse is a thinly disguised retelling of the assassination of Grand Duke Sergei Aleksandrovich. Written in the form of a diary by the leader of a group of five revolutionaries, the novel provides a straightforward and clinical account of the assassination and contains daring and vivid descriptions of the revolutionary underground and political conspiracy. Savinkov gives free reign to his dramatic impulses, the “inner feelings” of the conspirators, and the moral dimension of the plot. The book caused an immediate sensation both in Russia and abroad. Translated from Russian by Michael Katz, Pale Horseexplores the psychological basis of terrorism and political adventurism.
 

Michael Katz is C.V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and East European Studies at Middlebury College.
 

“An early English translation . . . has been far surpassed by the sparkling new one by Michael Katz, who has ably translated several works of Russian radical fiction.” —New York Review of Books