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The prisoner replied: "I know your sentence and I don't care. I am not afraid of it nor of death. But one thing I do fear—that the Russian people will misjudge me and misunderstand my life and its purpose. I never was an enemy of the Russian people. I have devoted my life to serving them. I have made mistakes, but I die unashamed and unafraid."
There was another adjournment, after which the court passed sentence upon the die-hard revolutionary, Gen. Boris Savinkov, but recommended him to mercy. Gen. Savinkov knew then that he would not die.
Karl Radek summed up the trial: "It's a perfect melodrama. Cesare Borgia in the rôle of Hamlet. What an amazing scoundrel is this Savinkov, drenched in blood, yet compelling us to believe in his sincerity, making us understand and even share his soul's agony! For me, I would shoot him out of hand. He is so utterly the plotter, so profoundly devoted to murder and destruction as to be incapable of anything else. And yet the man has elements of greatness. In his warped mind, I believe there is a genuine devotion to Russia, who needs the service of all her sons so much. Perhaps, after all, it is better that he live."