Accelerated state repression of "Zemlya i Volya" followed the hanging of attempted assassin Soloviev, with arrests nearly wiping out revolutionary cells in Ukraine and putting severe pressure on the organization elsewhere. The tension over terrorism led to a division of the organization, with proto-Marxists who favored an end to the use of terrorism gaining control over the official newspaper while the terrorist wing controlled a majority of the Executive Committee. Efforts to reconcile the two wings were unsuccessful and a split was formalized on August 15, 1879, by a commission appointed to divide the organization's assets.