Nicholas II of Russia
On 1 March 1881, following the assassination of his grandfather, Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas became heir apparent upon his father's ascension as Alexander III. Nicholas and his other family members bore witness to Alexander II's death, having been present at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, where he was brought after the attack. For security reasons, the new tsar and his family relocated their primary residence to the Gatchina Palace outside the city, only entering the capital for various ceremonial functions. On such occasions, Alexander III and his family occupied the nearby Anichkov Palace.
Ignacy Hryniewiecki
On 13 March 1881, (1 March O.S.) Alexander II was traveling in a two-seater carriage. An armed Cossack sat next to the coach-driver with Alexander II in the carriage while six other Cossacks followed on horseback. As the carriage approached a street corner near the Catherine Canal, Sophia Perovskaya gave the signal to Nikolai Rysakov and Timofei Mikhailov to throw their bombs. The Tsar was unharmed but two were wounded. Alexander II insisted upon leaving the carriage to check on the wounded. At this point Hryniewiecki, who was leaning against the railing by the canal fence, raised both arms and threw his bomb and the blast tore the Tsar apart. Just before throwing the bomb he was alleged to have shouted "It is too soon to thank God", in response to the emperor saying "thank God I'm untouched" to the anxious inquires of his entourage. Nearby, Hryniewiecki himself lay unconscious from the blast.