A memorial sign at the scene of the murder of M.Ya. Herzenstein

M. Ya. Herzenstein – a prominent public figure, publicist, economist, was elected to the first Russian State Duma in the spring of 1906 from the Constitutional Democratic Party better known as the "Cadets". But the first Russian parliament did not work for long, and after 72 days it was dissolved by Nicholas II. Not all deputies reacted positively to this decision of the emperor, 220 of them gathered in Vyborg, voting for the Duma's appeal to the people, in which they called for various forms of peaceful protest before the convocation of the new State Duma. Herzenstein was among the signatories, which caused the attitude of the authorities towards him, which was already not enthusiastic, to deteriorate sharply, criminal cases were initiated against all the signatories of the Vyborg Appeal. Most of them were sentenced to disenfranchisement and three months in prison.

He called for the allotment of peasants with land on the right of private ownership at the expense of both public lands and private landholdings obtained as a result of forced purchase by the state.

This position was frowned upon by conservative monarchist circles, in particular by the "Union of the Russian People", often referred to as the "Black Hundreds".

That summer, M. Ya. Herzenstein and his family lived in the city of Terijoki (now Zelenogorsk), a famous country house on the Gulf of Finland, not far from St. Petersburg. While walking along the shore with his wife and daughter, he was overtaken by a murderer who killed him with two shots from a revolver.

Subsequently, in 1908, a memorial sign appeared at the site of the tragic death of M. Ya. Herzenstein, which has survived to our time, however, in not the best condition.