The terrorist attack
The terrorist attack proves that the motives of the Revolutionaries are not pure. Not only was the political assassination an act of terrorism and violence, there were many killed who were innocent bystanders, in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Haldin, he feels justified, because of his feelings about politics, but to the reader, it is an obvious clue that although the Russian government isn't exactly a walk in the park, neither is the Revolution.
The failed escape plan
When Haldin's plan fails, it fails because he didn't plan through the escape enough. He was passionate about the bomb blast, because that was exciting, but the escape plan was difficult to plan thoroughly because it was tedious. Therefore, he did the passionate thing and executed his plan without thinking through the aftermath. For this, he ends up turning to the wrong people for help and he gets himself caught and hanged. This signifies the unsuccessful nature of passion without strategy.
The motif of deception
This novel is about a spy, but before he was a spy, he was already violent and deceptive. When Haldin explains how Ziemianitch failed him, he finds Ziemianitch, but instead of helping Haldin as he said he would, he attacks Ziemianitch and reports their crimes to the police. Then he betrays the community in Switzerland by espionage, and he betrays himself by revealing the constant deception at the end. That makes Razumov into a picture about honesty and deception. Why would a person ever be honest? Only because of love and family, it seems.
The allusion to Crime and Punishment
This novel contains allusions to great Russian works of art, most notably, Crime and Punishment, which is the story about a man who is guilty for a murder but is acquitted. Like that book, this one also features a man torn up by his past of abuse and manipulation. But in this book, he is compelled by romantic love for Natalia, whereas Dostoevsky's protagonist was compelled by justice. The allusion serves to contrast the two author's point of view.
Natalia as a symbol
Natalia herself is a symbol, because she is the main catalyst in Razumov's life. She symbolizes his urgent attachment to loneliness. When he realizes that he loves her, he also realizes that he is existentially solipsistic, existing without any real relationships to other humans. He always does whatever he wants, and he lies like a sociopath to cover up his tracks. Natalia represents the one reward for which he will sacrifice his entire house of cards—the prospect of love and family.
