Russian New Year

Originally Aired: January 13, 1957 In Suspense #681, "Russian New Year," a revolutionary named Boris reflects on his legacy in what he claims are the last hours of his life. Obsessed with being remembered for his role in the revolutionary movement, Boris seethes over how bourgeois journalists have supposedly minimized his importance while exaggerating the role of Olga Karolska, a woman he dismisses as a political ignoramus and mere puppet. Through flashbacks, Boris recounts how he manipulated Olga, a servant in Prince Ogareff's household who believes herself in love with him, to arrange a fateful meeting with the prince. When Olga reveals that Prince Ogareff's wife has left him for the Tsar and that the prince has been muttering about killing Russia's ruler, Boris sees his opportunity. He pressures Olga to bring the prince to his room near the university, where Boris presents an audacious plan: to destroy St. Basil's Cathedral during the New Year's Eve midnight mass, when the Tsar and the entire court will be gathered inside. As Boris coldly explains his scheme to use sixty pounds of melanite explosive, he reveals his nihilistic philosophy that revolutions are born from hate, not love, while the superstitious Olga fears for his very soul.