28 April

April 28 is the single most consequential date in the novel, the day on which the legal and moral machinery of the story is set in motion. It is the date of Katerina Maslova's trial for the murder of the merchant Therapont Emelianovich Smelkoff, and the day Prince Dmitri Nekhludoff, serving as a juryman, first sees her again after a decade. The coincidence of the trial falling on this particular day forces Nekhludoff to confront the sin he had buried for nine years, and the events of April 28 become the catalyst for his spiritual resurrection and the entire narrative that follows.

The Trial and Its Immediate Consequences

On the morning of April 28, at 9 a.m., three prisoners—Simeon Kartinkin, Euphemia Botchkova, and Katerina Maslova—are ordered to appear at the Law Courts. The prison office treats this bureaucratic notice as more sacred than the spring morning itself. Maslova, after more than three months of confinement, is led through the streets in her prison cloak and shoes, attracting the attention of passersby. The comparatively fresh air gladdens her, but the rough stones hurt her feet, unused to walking. When she almost touches a grey-blue pigeon with her foot, it flutters up and fans her with its wings; she smiles, then sighs deeply as she remembers her present position. At the same hour, Nekhludoff is still lying in bed in his luxurious house, smoking a cigarette and considering what he has to do that day. He receives a perfumed note from Princess Mary Korchagin reminding him of his jury duty, and he dresses leisurely, using the finest toiletries and clothing. The contrast between the two characters' experiences of the same morning is stark: Maslova walks the stony streets in prison shoes, while Nekhludoff washes with perfumed soap and drinks aromatic coffee from a silver pot.

Nekhludoff's Recognition and Inner Turmoil

During the trial, when the prisoners are questioned, Nekhludoff puts on his pince-nez and looks at them. When Maslova gives her name as "Lubov" and then corrects it to "Katerina," he is seized by the certainty that this is the same Katusha he had loved and betrayed. He sees in her face that strange, indescribable individuality which distinguishes every face from all others—the sweet, peculiar individuality on those lips, in the slight squint of her eyes, in the voice, particularly in the naive smile, and in the expression of readiness on her face and figure. A complicated and fierce struggle goes on in his soul. He remembers the dreadful night with its mist, the ice breaking on the river, and the waning moon that lit up something black and weird. He feels the same loathing and pity and vexation as when, out shooting, he is obliged to kill a wounded bird. The wounded bird struggles in the game bag; one is disgusted and yet feels pity, and one is in a hurry to kill the bird and forget it. Yet he cannot forget, and the memory of that Easter eve when he had loved her with a pure love returns to him, contrasting painfully with the present moment.

The Verdict and Its Aftermath

The jury's verdict, delivered on April 28, condemns Maslova to four years' penal servitude in Siberia, despite her evident innocence of the poisoning charge. The president of the court notes the absurdity of the decision—that she has been found guilty of poisoning without any motive—but the sentence is pronounced. Maslova cries out that she is not guilty, and sinks on the bench, bursting into tears and sobbing aloud. Nekhludoff, horrified, hurries after the president to protest, but is told that a reason for an appeal can always be found. The date April 28 thus marks not only the legal condemnation of an innocent woman but also the beginning of Nekhludoff's active efforts to atone for his sin. He consults the advocate Fanarin, visits the prison, and begins the long process of seeking justice for Maslova. The sentence pronounced on this day will determine the entire subsequent course of the novel: Nekhludoff's journey to Petersburg, his visits to his estates, and ultimately his decision to follow Maslova to Siberia.

Thematic Significance

April 28 functions as the novel's fulcrum, the point at which past and future collide. It is the date on which Nekhludoff's carefully constructed life of luxury and self-deception is shattered by the reappearance of the woman he had wronged. The spring setting—the sun shining, the air balmy, the grass reviving—contrasts bitterly with the artificial world of the courtroom and the prison, where men's devices for enslaving one another are considered more important than the beauty of God's world. The date also carries an implicit irony: it is the day of judgment for Maslova, but it is Nekhludoff who is truly judged. The trial becomes a mirror in which he sees his own moral corruption, and the verdict against Maslova becomes the occasion for his own resurrection. The events of April 28 set in motion the entire chain of consequences that lead to Nekhludoff's spiritual awakening, his decision to give up his land, his journey to Siberia, and his final reading of the Gospels. The date thus marks the beginning of the end of his old life and the dawn of a new one.