Khodynka Field

In celebration of the new Emperor, Nicholas II, gifts were promised to the Russian peasants. By dawn, on the 30th of May 1896, a large crowd of many thousands had already gathered on the field, but rumours spread amongst them that there was not enough bread, beer or pretzels for everybody. Panic gradually set in, and a police force of 1,800 men failed to maintain order, and in a catastrophic crowd crush and resulting chaos, 1,389 people were killed, and roughly 1,300 were injured. Most of the victims were trapped in a ditch and were trampled or suffocated to death.