This document provides an introduction and first chapter to a dissertation on the threat of revolutionary terrorism in early 20th century Russia. It defines terrorism as using violence or threats of violence to further a revolutionary cause when open warfare is not possible. The introduction discusses the origins and growth of revolutionary groups in Russia in response to political and social frustrations under the autocratic tsarist regime. It argues that while terrorism on its own did not destabilize the state, it did weaken the government psychologically and hasten its downfall through assassinations of officials.

1. pg. 1
'How great a political threat did revolutionary
terrorismpose to the government in early 20th
century Russia?'
A dissertation submitted for the BA in History
at the University of Teesside
By
Matthew Alexander Richardson

2. pg. 2
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................4
Origins of Terrorism ........................................................................9
Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats .............................16
State Repression ...........................................................................23
Conclusion.....................................................................................26
Bibliography..................................................................................29

3. pg. 3
'How great a political threat did revolutionary
terrorismpose to the government in early 20th
century Russia?'
Abstract
This dissertation looks at to what extent terrorism influenced Russia politically
before the Revolution. Revolutionaries used terror tactics as a way of
protecting the revolutionary movement. Russian autocracy was a source of
discontent for which the revolutionaries were willing to lay down their lives.
The influence of terrorist tactics has its limit and other forms of political protest
and mass uprisings also played a part in destabilising the state. Terrorism was a
reaction to the crushing autocracy of the Russian Tsars.

4. pg. 4
Chapter 1
Introduction
Compared with the wholesale violence of capital and government, political acts of violence are
but a drop in the ocean. That so few resistis the strongest proof how terrible must be the conflict
between their souls and unbearable social iniquities.
High strung, like a violin string, they weep and moan for life, so restless, so cruel, so terribly
inhuman. In a desperate moment the string breaks. Untuned ears hear nothing but discord. But
those who feel the agonized cry understand its harmony; they hear in it the fulfilment of the
most compelling moment of human nature.
Such is the psychology of political violence1 - Emma Goldman
'Terrorismhas croppedupsince time immemorial.'2
Terrorismasaconcept can mean
manydifferentthingsand itsprecise definitionissurroundedin greyareas. Itis simplya
tool,usedbya groupor individualinorder tocreate socio-political change viafear. Itis
importantto setthe parametersfordefiningterrorismasitdiffersdependingonthe
specificsubject.Forexample,CharlesTownsendstatesthatthe difficultyindefining
terroristsis'due to labelling, because 'terrorist'isa descriptionthathasalmostnever
beenvoluntarilyadopted byanyindividual orgroup.'3
The ambiguityof the subject
meansthat oneach writtenworkonterrorismthe definitionisusuallymade tosuitthe
individualwriter. 'the onlygeneral characteristicof terrorismgenerallyagreeduponis
that terrorisminvolvesviolence andthe threatof violence'4
.Withterrorismthe threatof
violence ismuchmore significantthanthe actual violence.Forinstance if the terrorist
groupswere strongenoughto pose a legitimatemilitarythreattothe state thenthey
wouldproceedwithcivil warusingtacticsof openwarfare or,at least,guerrillawarfare.
Whenrevolutionaryorganisationsare atthe mercy of the powerof the state,that is
whentheyuse terrortactics and psychological warfare.AsRogerGriffinexplains:
the psychological effect of 'terror‘ or of debilitatingfear which deliberateacts of
violence(or the threat they pose) aredesigned to have on those not directly caughtup
in them but their target audience (rulers,politicians,the military,thepublic whose
opinion and 'mood‘ is to be changed). But its ambiguous,'polysemic‘nature has littleto
do with its unusual formation or the nature of terroristviolenceas such.5
1 Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays ((Minneapolis,2005) p.65
2 Walter Laqueuer, Voices of Terror (Illinois,2004) p.8
3 Charles Townsend, Terrorism a Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2011) p. 3
4 Bruce Hoffman, Inside Terrorism (Columbia:Columbia University Press,2006) p. 34
5 Roger Griffin, The Terrorist Creed (Hampshire,2012) p. 11

5. pg. 5
Whichis a well roundeddefinitionforthe general subject.Howeverterrorismcanbe
usedto describe otherformsof psychological warfare andbecause of thisthe definition
for thisdissertationisasfollows:
Terrorismisused to inspire fearthroughdirectviolence orthe threatof violence
by an individual oranorganisedgroupthat wishtopublicise theiragenda,
damage an opponentorforciblyattainresourcesinordertofurtherthe
revolutionarycause. Terrortacticsare usedwhena small resistance movement
cannot face an oppressorinopenwarfare.
Thisdissertation will examinehow terrorismwasusedasa tool by revolutionaries in
TsaristRussia,withan especial eye onhow dangerousitwas,andwasperceivedtobe at
the time.To be sure,as a tool terrorismhas notonlybeenadopted by revolutionaries,
religiousextremists, separatistgroups anddissatisfiedindividuals,butisalso deployed
by variousstatesasa formof control overtheirpeople (though‘state sponsored
terrorism’,asa concept,has lotsof critics).Terrorismis change throughcultivationof
fear, and thiscan include governments too(e.g.againstinsurrections)andviolence was
a tactic oftenemployedbythe Russianstate tocontrol itssubjects. Haupt and
Weinhauerclaimthat,'terrorismhasoftenbeencreatedprimarilybyitsopponents'.6
As
a form of resistance againstrepression. Fortheirpart,resistance movementsuse fearto
showthe weaknessesof agivenregime.Anotheraimwasthe assassinationof key
political figures,includingthe Tsars.Tyrannicide hasbeenafrequentoccurrence
throughouthistory.Manyphilosophersandwritershave commentedonitandthe
moralityof suchan act. Tyrannicide isatthe origin of terrorism.Forwhena personor
organisationdecidedatyrantmust be removed,despite the dangeritmayinvolve,itis
terroristsusingassassinationtotryand destroynotonlythe individualbutalsoto
weakenthe state.Terrorismisastyle of guerrillawarfare inwhichasmall groupcannot
face those it wishestodestroyinopenwarfare,usuallytocombatperceivedtyranny.
Cicerocallstyrannicide,'the noblestof all noble deeds.'7
Thistextwill examine towhat
extentterrorismasa tool contributedtothe weakeningof the governmentuntil the
successful revolutionsof 1917.
Russia'sdecline asa worldpowerfollowingitshumiliationinthe Crimeanwarin1853
sparkeda seriesof modernisingreforms.These reformsaimedtomodernise Russiain
orderto keeppace withothernations,howeverpolitical reformwasnotincluded.Anna
Geifmandescribesthese developmentsasa 'peculiarcoexistence withinone countryof
social and economicmodernisationandpoliticalbackwardness.'8
The resultwasa
6 Bloxhamand Gerwarth(ed), Political Violence in Twentieth Century Europe (Cambridge, 2011) p.
209
7 Walter Laqueuer(ed)s, Voices of Terror, p. 18
8 Anna Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill (Princeton, 1995) p. 11

6. pg. 6
generationof frustratedandalienatedindividuals.Initiallythe revolutionariesusually
hailedfromwealthy,welleducatedbackgrounds.Individualswhofeltfrustratedby
society.Theywere notofferedopportunitytorealise theirintellectualambitions.
FrustrationwithsocietyisoftenreflectedinnovelsbyDostoyevsky,amemberof the
RussianIntelligentsiawhoencouragedliberalideaswithinRussiaandwere often
punisheddisproportionately.Dostoyevsky'sshortstory NotesFromtheUnderground
almostparodiesRussiansociety,tellingthe storyof a man almostdrivenmadbythe
social conventionsandhisdesire tobreakfromthem.
The industrial revolutioninEurope hadanegative effectonthe RussianEmpire.The
problemlaywithinthe pooradministrationalstructure andconcentrationof power by
an autocratic ruler.The resultof thisledtoa large undercurrentof discontentwhich
slowly tookformthroughoutthe nineteenthandearlytwentiethcentury. The Russian
Empire, at the turn of the nineteenthcentury,wasthe largestlandbasedempire inthe
worldboastinga large andculturallydiverse population. Itstill operatedasafeudal
society,inwhichserfsbelongedtothe landandwere ownedbythe aristocracy. Russia's
backwardnesswascentredarounditssystemof serfdom.Russiawasleftbehindother
worldpowersandthisinitiatedaresponse fromTsarAlexanderII.Alexanderknew that
drasticchange musttake effectimmediatelyforthe RussianEmpire tomaintainits
worldpowerstatus. AlexanderIIknownasthe 'Tsar Liberator'triedtoinstigate some
reform.Followinghisassassinationin1881 the subsequentrulershadastrong
reactionaryagenda.Burleighstatesthat 'movementinasocietythathad been
immobilisedasif entombedinlead,byNicholasI'.9
The reactionledtofurtherresistance
fromthe people inwhich, 'the revolutionaryendsjustifiedthe corruptmeans'.10
The birth of Intelligentsiainthe 1860s wasthe beginningof alternative thinkingwithin
Russia.The revolutionarythoughtwasusuallypeaceful.Howeverastime passedand
Russiaseemedtonotdevelop,anew formof revolutionarywascreatedoutof the
frustratedsociety.Terrorist revolutionariesusedterrortacticsto try andforce change
withinRussia.Theyreadthe worksof the intelligentsiaandactedon them.
Cherynyshevsky'sbook, Whatisto Be Done? publishedin1863, influencedmany
revolutionaries,includingLeninwhowrote apamphletof the same name in1902.
BurleighattributesLeninwithsaying:
Under his influencehundreds of people became revolutionaries...For example, he
fascinated my brother and he fascinated me. He ploughed me up more profoundly than
anyone else. When did you read What is to Be Done?... I myself tried to read itwhen I
was about fourteen. It was no use, a superficial reading.And then, after my brother's
execution, knowing that Cherynyshevsky's novel was one of his favouritebooks,I really
9Burleigh,Earthly Powers, (London, 2006) p. 276
10ibid,p. 282

7. pg. 7
undertook to read it, and I satover it not for several days but for several weeks. Only
then did I understand it's depth... It's a thing which supplies energy for a whole lifetime.
An ungifted work could not have that kind of influence11
The intelligentsiaandthe higherstandardsof educationinRussiameantthatthere was
a sectionof educatedandfrustratedindividualsthat saw the problemsinsocietyand
wantedtomake a difference.
Womenalsoplayedanintegral partin the initial revolutionarymovement andthe later,
more organised, terroristmovements.Knightdescribesthe interactionof womenas
those 'whomay have turnedto terrorout of a sense of isolationandfrustration
nurturedina societythatofferedthemsolittle opportunitytoemploytheirintellectual
talentsusefully.'12
Asterroriststheywere treatasequals,achance thatthe restof
societywouldnotallow.The revolutionarymovementsaw aflurryof female activity.
Theyhad 'a desire forpersonal independence,forapurposeful,productivecareerthat
broke the traditional femalestereotypeof wife andmotherpre-cededinvolvementin
broadersocial causes.'13
These organisationsallowedwomenfreedomandasa result
encouragedstrongminded,intelligentwomentojointhe cause. CharlesTownsend
attributesWalterLaqueurwithsaying: 'womenterroristsare more fanatical andhave a
greatercapacityfor suffering.Theirmotivationispredominantlyemotionalandcannot
be shakenthroughintellectual argument'.14
Thoughitisdifficulttoagree with that
argument,itdoesexplaintowhatextentwomenare involvedinterroristmovements.
The Russianrevolutionarymovementwasnodifferent.
To what extentterrorismwasaneffective tool of revolutionisdisputed.Charles
Townsendclaimsgroups 'reliedonpure terrorismasaresultof political weaknessor
marginality'.15
Russia'sunique politicalsituationmeantthatterrorismwasindeedused
because of the political weaknessof revolutionaries.HoweverAnne Geifmanbelieves
that 'it wouldbe misleading toneglectthe suddenintensificationof individualterrorist
activity,since the latterphenomenondidasmuchasthe former(massviolence),if not
more,to destabilize the Tsaristregimepoliticallyandpsychologically,particularlyinthe
post- 1905 period.'16
Terrorismalone didnotdomuch to destabilise the state.When
revolutionarygroupsattemptedtouse terrorismasa primarytactic theywere shut
downquicklybythe police whohadbecome efficientatdealingwiththe them.The
escalationof violence inthe earlytwentiethcenturywascoupledwithincreasedpolitical
11Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 280
12 Amy Knight, 'Female Terrorists in the Russian SocialistRevolutionary Party', Russian Review
(April,1979) p. 145
13 ibid p. 141
14 Charles Townsend, Terrorism a Very Short Introduction, p. 19
15 ibid, p. 74
16 Anne Giefman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 249

8. pg. 8
awarenessof the revolutionaries.Organisationandcommunicationhadimprovedand
thisallowedthe terrortacticsto become more dangeroustothose workingin
government. Burleighstatesthat'althoughthe tsaristregime succeededintemporarily
containingthe epidemicof terrorism, ithadfatallyweakenedthe capacityand
willingnessof the governmentsbureaucraticservantstoresistfurtherassaults'.17
The
psychological effectof the terrortacticwas much greaterthanthe physical orpolitical
threat.The assassinationof Tsar AlexanderIIIisevidence of this.The state didn't
suddenlycollapse he was,instead,replacedlikeotherofficialswhofell victimtoattacks.
Geifmansuggeststhat,'the terroristshastenedthe downfall of the tsaristregime not
onlybyassassinatingprominentstate leaders,butalsobykillingthousandsof capable
lowerlevel civil andmilitaryofficials.'18
Itwasthe psychological effectof terrorismthat
causedthe most threatwithinRussia.The threatof violence wasmuchmore terrible
than the terroristcapabilities.AsTownsendstates,'Howeverresilientsocietiesmaybe
inobjective terms,theyremainpsychologicallyfragile'.19
Terrorismwastherefore a
useful revolutionarytool.But,asYvesTernonsuggests,'terrorismwasonlyone element
of the multidimensional violence'.20
Massriotshada much strongerpolitical significance
on the stabilityof the state.
17 Burleigh,Blood and Rage (London, 2009) p. 66
18 Anne Giefman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 249
19 Charles Townsend, Terrorism a Very Short Introduction, p. 74
20 Chaliand and Blin (ed), The History of Terrorism From Antiquity to Al Qaeda (London, 2007),p.
172

9. pg. 9
Chapter 2
Origins of Terrorism
'The revolutionary is a doomed man. He has no personal interests, no business affairs, no
emotions, no attachments, no property, and no name. Everything in him is wholly absorbed in
the single thought and the single passion for revolution.'21 - Neycheyev
Terrorismgrewas an extensionof political protest,bothinRussiaandaroundthe world,
at the endof the nineteenthcentury.Atitsoriginwere new liberal ideasthathad
managedto seepintoRussiansocietyfromwestern Europe.Relaxationof some state
control ledto the growthof twosignificant,violentpolitical groups.The Populistsand
the Nihilistswere twoearlypolitical ideologiestodevelopwithinRussia.Bothgroups
were comprisedmainlyof youngeducatedpeople.Universitieswerethe most
democraticinstitutionswithinRussiaandtherefore AlexanderIIplacedtwogeneralsin
charge of educationtotry and limitrevolutionarypotential of students.Theyhadmore
freedomsthanmostotherpartsof societyandwere able toread some political writings
that filteredinfromEurope.Neycheyevalongwithmanyrevolutionarieswasinitially
involvedinstudentprotests.The generalsattemptedtokeepcontrol using 'erratic
brutality'22
andthe revolutionarymovementdeveloped.The easingoncensorshipand
the lack of available employmentforthe educatedmeantthatoftentheywere left
discontentwithsociety.Womenalsoplayedamajorrole inrevolutionarygroups
because theytoowere becomingbettereducatedandfeltlimitedinwhattheycoulddo,
perhapsevenmore sothan the men.NihilistandPopulistideologieswere therefore the
youngergeneration,the new intelligentsia.Theywere frustratedbythe slow political
developmentandturnedtonew methodstofurthertheirpolitical agenda.
The Nihilistmovementwasunlikeotherrevolutionarygroupsthathadappearedbefore
inthe historyof Russia.Michael BurleighdescribesNihilismas,the 'rejectionof all
religiousandmoral principles,ofteninthe beliefthatlife ismeaningless.'23
However
theircore belief wastodestroythe establishedorderandtherefore allowsomething
newand bettertotake its place,the ideologywasnotaverydevelopedone andit
focusedonthe meansrather thanthe end.As RogerGriffinexplains,
The nihilism of their means ― the indifference to human costs—takes their actions not
only out of the realm of politics, but even out of the realm of war itself. The apocalyptic
21 'The Revolutionary Catechism' Marxists Internet Archive
[http://www.marxists.org/subject/anarchism/nechayev/catechism.htm] accessed 28th March
2012
22 Ronald Seth, The Russian Terrorists (Bristol,1966) p.27
23Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p .32

10. pg. 10
nature of their goals makes it absurd to believe they aremaking political demands at all.
They are seeking the violenttransformation of an irremediably sinful and unjustworld.24
In the 1860s the social discontentof many,usuallystudents,saw arise inorganised
revolutionarygroups.Nihilismisuniquewhenexaminingthe tacticsadoptedregarding
terrorism.Theyusedthe ideaof small groupviolence,workingin5 mancellswithsome
central control.Theyoperatedinsecretandattemptedtoassimilate intosocietywhile
spreadingrevolutionaryideas.Laterrevolutionarygroupsusedothertypesof terrorism
as a tactic, as part of theirgreaterpolitical agenda.Butunlike othergroups,Nihilismwas
terrorism andat itscentre wasNeycheyev.Neycheyev'simportance wentmuchfurther
than hisinitial andrelativelyshortlived revolutionarycampaign.He wasaninspiration
for the future generationsof revolutionaries.Forexample,Michael Burleighcompares
himto the AmericanoutlawJesse James.25
A legendarycriminal evenduringhislifetime,
he encouragedthe ideaof revolution throughviolence andbelievedthatthe bestwayto
encourage revolutionwastodestroyeverythingwithinthe currentsocietysothat
somethingcompletelynewcouldtake itsplace.
Neycheyevintroducedsome veryimportanttacticsthatbecame commonplace within
revolutionarygroups.The illusionof agreaterorganisationwasone.Uponmeetingwith
the famedanarchistBakunin,NeycheyevreturnedtoRussiawithacertificate toidentify
the carrier as 'one of the WorldRevolutionaryAlliance No.2771'.26
The World
RevolutionaryAlliance existedonlyinthe imaginationof BakuninandNeycheyev.The
illusionof alargerorganisationwasessential forcoercingmembersintocommittingacts
of terrorism,asthese small groupsofferedlittle threatbutneededtolook asthough
theywere poisedforafull scale revolution.The illusionof greaterorganisationwasa
commontactic withearlyrevolutionarygroups.Itencouragedthe obedience of its
memberswhobelievedthattheywouldbe punishedbythe central organisationif they
didnot followorders.The tacticisparodiedinDostoyevsky's TheDevils.It was to ensure
obedience thatthe tacticwasadoptedbyalmosteverysucceedingrevolutionarygroup.
Neycheyev'sotherlegacywashis Revolutionary Catechism,atribute toBakunin'searlier
work,for whichhe wasalso attributedasa co-author.The pamphletlaidoutthe
principlesarevolutionaryshouldfollow.Itwasa much darker,more extreme pamphlet
than Bakunin's Catechism,whichwasmade upof pointssuchas, 'If there isone
fundamental principleof humanmorality, itis freedom.Torespectthe freedomof your
fellowman isduty;to love,help,andserve himis virtue.'27
HoweverNeycheyev broughta
wholenew energy to the concept. Neycheyev's Catechismof a Revolutionary 'isgenerally
24 Roger Griffin,The Terrorist Creed, p. 20
25Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 286
26Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p. 38
27 Revolutionary Catechism
[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/1866/catechism.htm] Accessed,
2/4/2013

11. pg. 11
acknowledgedtobe the mostcold-bloodedmanualinterroristhistory'.28
Luciano
Pellicani accordinglystatesthatthe Catechism'explicitlyformulatesatheoremthatwas
to become anindisputabledogmainthe frameworkof the communist culture:the
legitimacyof everymeans,eventhe mostterrifying,if functional tothe sacredcause of
the “terrible,total,general andruthlessdestruction”of “rottensociety.”'29
Itimplores
the revolutionarytodevote all theirenergiestodestroythe state,togive theirlifefor
the greatergood.
Thus, The Catechism is a listof attributesarevolutionaryshouldhave orpracticesthey
shouldlive by;forexample,the openingpoint:'the revolutionaryisadoomedman.He
has no personal interests,nobusinessaffairs,noemotions,noattachments,no
property,andno name.Everythinginhimiswhollyabsorbedinthe single thoughtand
the single passionforrevolution.'30
The pamphletpreachesamoralitytowardpotential
victims,anattribute thatwould make a revolutionaryterroristmosteffective. Laqueur
statesthat 'they promote murder,theftandcorruptionineverypossible way.'31
The
destructionof existingsocial orderwastheirgoal.
Nihilismalsocoinedthe ideaof propagandaof the deed.Thatterroristtacticswould
advertise the movementandencourage otherstojoin,once theycouldsee thatthe
governmentwasunable tostopit.Thismethodwasthe most effective use of terror
tactics andevenina heavilycensoredRussiansocietyNeycheyevbecame known,not
onlyinRussia,butas a theoristatan international level. Dostoyevsky tookaninterestin
Neycheyev,basinganovel called ThePossessed(TheDevilsor The Demons,depending
on the translation) onthe Nihilists.HoweverDostoyevsky,himself havingsome links
withsocial andpolitical discontent,calledhimselfan,'old"Nechaevist,"'sayingthathe
too,'stood on the scaffold,sentencedtodeath' – the difference beingthatthese
'Nechaevists'were 'slackerswhohave neverstudiedathing'.32
The RussianIntelligentsia
whohad beganthe flowof revolutionaryideasandliterature hadinspiredthe Populist
and Nihilistmovements.Dostoyevskybasedhisnovelquite closelyonthe actual
membersof Neycheyev'scell andevenincludesthe murderforwhichNeycheyevwas
forcedto flee Russia,bringinganendtohismovement.Neycheyevalsobecame known
internationallythroughthe media,beingdubbedthe 'Fatherof Terrorism'by TheTimes,
28 Rappaportand Alexander(ed)s, The Morality of Terrorism Religeous and Secular Justifications
(Oxford, 1983) p. 220
29 Luciano Pellicani, Revolutionary Apocalypse: Ideological Roots of Terrorism (Westport, 2003) p.
130-131
30 'The Revolutionary Catechism' Marxists Internet Archive
[http://www.marxists.org/subject/anarchism/nechayev/catechism.htm] accessed 28th March
2012
31Walter Laqueur, ' Interpretations of Terrorism: Fact, Fiction and Political Science', Journal of
Contemporary History (January,1977) p. 23
32 Steven Cassedy, Dostoyevsky's Religion (California,2005) p.83

12. pg. 12
whichstatedthat 'all recognize hisability,hiscourage,andutterdisregardof self.He
was the mostardentpromoterof terrorism',addingthathe had 'bulldogtenacity'.33
Overall,he isportrayedwell inthe article,aideological warriorfightingfor hisbeliefs
againstan oppressive state.The article statesthat'itisimpossible tocrushan
organizationthe membersof whichare willingtolaydowntheirlivesinthe executionof
itscommands.'34
Almostglorifyingthe cause andsothe trendseemstofollow suit,that
the revolutionariesare portrayedasfreedomfightersstrugglingwiththe crushing
oppressionof the Tsariststate.
Neycheyevlackedthe personalqualitiestobe an effective revolutionaryleader.He was
paranoidandobsessedwithpower, whichledtohisdecisiontomurderamemberof the
groupfor disobedience.Howeverhe wasalsodetermined,he wasobsessedwiththe
revolutionarycause.BakunindescribesNeycheyevinthisway: 'Whenitisa questionof
servingwhathe callsthe cause,he doesnot hesitate;nothingstopshim, andhe isas
mercilesswithhimself aswithall the others.'35
Hisorganisation'The People's
Vengeance'aimedatregicide andwasperhapsthe influenceof the People'sWill which
latersucceededwiththe task.BurleighattributesBakuninwithdescribingNeycheyevas
'a devotedfanatic,butatthe same time a verydangerousfanaticwhose alliancecannot
but be harmful foreverybody'.36
A fanaticismthatinspiredfuture generationsof violent
revolutionarieswasthe same attribute thatsaw himendthe hope of hisown
revolutionarygroupachievinganything.Thatsaid,Nihilismasanideologywasstill to
remaina much more significantthreattothe state thanany nihilistgroups.
The Populistmovementbeganpeacefully.The 'Pilgrimage of the People'in1873-74 was
an attemptto reach outto the RussianPeasants.The movementwasmostlycomprised
of well-educatedandwealthyyoungmenandwomen.The aimof the movementwasto
educate the peasantsabouttheirsituationandstiruprevolutionarypotential inorderto
force state reformor risk revolution.Burleighclaimsthat Populismwasbornof a sense
of guilt,37
butthe rootsgo much deeper.The movementcomesfromwesternideasof
socialismthatwere tricklingintoRussian Society.Itwasthe beginningsof more
developedviewsof social equalityandjustice.The 'Pilgrimage of the People'was
unsuccessful.The peasantsfailedtosee commongroundwiththose involvedinthe
movement.Ulamgivesanexampleof ainteractionbetweenrevolutionariesanda
peasant:'We startedto tell himthatthat one shouldnotpaytaxes,that officialsare
robbers,andthat the Bible preachesthe needforarevolution.The peasanturgedonhis
horse,we hastenedourstep.He putit intoa trot, but we keptrunning,shoutingabout
33 "Father of Terrorism", The Times, Feb 2, 1884
34 "Alexander II", The Times , March 14,1881
35Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 288
36ibid, p. 288
37ibid, p. 299

13. pg. 13
taxesandrevolution...Until we couldnotbreathe'.38
The peasantswere notpersuaded
to organise intoa revolutionaryforce asthese revolutionarieshadexpected.
The 'Pilgrimage of the People'failed,andwhensome memberswere jailedthe
movementbecame more extreme.The desireforrevolutionandaninabilityto
revolutionisethe peasantrymeantthatsome thoughtthatpolitical violence wasthe
nextlogical stepagainstrepression.AsBurleighdescribes,'the mindsof some Populists
turnedto terroristviolence,asaway of circumventingthe bovine immobilityof the
peasantsandstrikingbackat an allegedlyrepressive regime whose jailswere actually
breedinggroundsforterrorism.'39
Insteadof gettingsenttoSiberia the Populistswere
keptinprisons.The ideaof thiswas to stopthemspreadingtheirideologytopeasant
villages,whichtheywouldpotentiallyhave accesstoinexile.Inprisonthe Populists
livedingoodconditions,were usuallytreatwell andtheyhad chance tonetwork.This
processwasthe centrepieceof the MaximGorkynovel, My Universities.The time in
prisonandin exile actuallymade the movementmore of athreat tothe state.
Revolutionarygroupsoftenadvocatedthe inclusionof femalemembers. Theywere
able,here,toreacha level of equalityunparalleledinthe restof Russiansociety.They
had brokenthe bondsof familylife andsearchedforpurpose toequal theirintellectual
ambition.Womenwere able torise upthe ranksand theirmale comradesgave them
greaterrecognitionthantheycouldhave expectedfromthe traditionalestablishment.40
WomeninRussiawere deniedaccesstothe same educationtheirmale counterparts.
Womenwiththe meansto educate themselveswere countedamongthe ranks of the
dissatisfiedandfrustrated,turningtheirattentionsinsteadtothe revolutionary
campaign.
In Memoriesof a Revolutionist, VeraFignerrecountshertime operatingwithin
revolutionarygroups. Fignerthus describesherpersonal transitionintomore militant
revolutionarytactics:"Mypreviousexperience hadledme tothe convictionthatthe
onlycourse by whichthe existingorderof thingsmightbe changedwasa course of
violence."41
Thiswastakenfroma speechgiventothe courts uponherconvictionforher
linkwith'The People'sWill'.The role of womenwithinthe movement,moreover,was
essential.Fignerstatesthat,'evenbefore the Will of the People,beginningwiththe shot
firedbyVeraZassulichinthe year1878, a whole seriesof terroristicactshad deeply
stirredpublicopinion.'42
Thatis,usingthe tacticssuggestedbyNeycheyevandBakuninto
rock the Tsarist state.
The transitionof PopulismintoPopulistterrorismsaw the movementbecome amuch
greaterpolitical threat.Hobsbawmstatesthat,'theywere rathermore successfulat
38Adam Ulam, Prophets and Conspirators in Pre-Revolutionary Russia (New Brunswick,1998),p
225
39Burleigh,Blood and Rage , p. 42
40 Anna Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 12
41Vera Figner, Memoires of a Revolutionist (Illinois,1991) p.164
42ibid, p. 88

14. pg. 14
small-groupterrorism'.43
The People'sWill wasthe Populistgroupthatwouldbecome
mostsuccessful forfinallyachievingwhatthe Nihilistshad(thoughtthey) wanted.In
1881, following7failedattempts,the People'sWill succeededinassassinatingTsar
AlexanderII.The transitionintoterroristviolence hadseenanamalgamationof Populist
idealsandNihilisttactics,somethingwhichwoulddevelopinthe earlytwentiethcentury
intothe Party of Socialist Revolutionaries.WhenVeraFignerjoinedthe People'sWill,
Burleighattributesherwithsaying"Butthisispure Nechaev!".44
The Populistmovement
had builtonitsbase ideologiesandacknowledgedthe effectivenesswithwhich
terrorismcouldbe usedas a formof propaganda.Populismhadbecome something
whichposeda dangerto the state,momentarilyrockingthe state’sveryfoundations.
Furthermore BurleighclaimsthatLenin'explicitlyrecommendedPeople'sWill asa
model of conspiratorial organisation'.45
Populismwasthe model onwhichlater
revolutionarygroupsweretobase themselves.
Yet itshouldalsobe notedthat Anarchismissomethingthatshouldbe keptseparate
fromthe Russianrevolutionarygroups.Anarchismwasaworldwide movementwhich
had no central organisationorleadership.Individualactsof terrorismwhichHobsbawm
referstoas the 'anarchistepidemicof assassinations',46
saw the assassinationof key
political figuresaroundthe worldincluding;Elisabeththe Empressof Austriain1898,
UmbertoI of Italyin1900 and US PresidentWilliamMcKinleyin1901. Burleighalso
attributesanarchistsasbeing'especiallyvicious,targetedentire classesof people,
hurlingbombsintochurches,restaurants,synagoguesandtheatres'.47
Russian
anarchistsalsoadoptedthe tactic of suicide bombingsin190448
, strappingthemselves
withdynamite andblowingthemselvesupattheirtarget.Asthere was nocentral
organisationof anarchists,itisdifficulttoattribute specificpolitical agendastotheir
oftenindiscriminateviolence.
Destruction and violence! How is the ordinary man to know that the most violent
element in society is ignorance;that its power of destruction is the very thing Anarchism
is combating? Nor is he aware that Anarchism, whose roots, as it were, are part of
nature's forces, destroys, not healthful tissue, but parasitic growths that feed on the
life's essence of society. It is merely clearing the soil from weeds and sagebush, that it
may eventually bear healthy fruit.49
Thisextractis takenfromEmma Goldman's Anarchismand OtherEssays.Itsumsup the
goalsof anarchism.The problemanarchismfacedasa revolutionaryforce isbasedonits
lack of a central organisation.Anarchismbyitsverynature cannothave such an
organisation.Itisbutthe individual takingituponthemselvestofightagainstthe society
43Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire 1875-1914 (London, 1995), p. 295
44Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p. 47
45Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 303
46Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire, p. 100
47Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p. 60
48ibid, p. 60
49 Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays, p. 11

15. pg. 15
that seessomanyoppressed.Thatiswhy,despite itssuccessasa theorycollectedbyan
individual,the anarchistorganisationinRussianeverhadenoughcohesiontoseriously
shake the foundationsof the Tsaristgovernment.
The earlyterroristgroupsneverreallyposedathreatto the state.Until the assassination
of AlexanderIItheywere nothingmore thananuisance andmore a dangerto the public
than those inpositionsof authority.Eventhentheirpowerwaslimited;infact,all they
didwas showthat there wasenoughdissatisfactionaboutthe political andsocial
structure that some membersof societytobe willingtorisktheirlivestodestroyit.
These earlygroupsspreadrevolutionaryideasthatlaidthe basisformore advanced
political movement.The relativesuccessof the terrortacticswas alsoimplementedby
some of the latergroups. NihilismandPopulismwere areactiontostate oppression
and theywere the mosteffectiveformof social protestthatRussiahadeverseen.The
actionsof these earlyRussianterroristsgainedinternational publicity.EvenNeycheyev
gainedinternational publicity,forin1884 the timeswrote an article callinghim the
'Fatherof RussianTerrorism',suggestinghe 'impartedadecideddirectiontothe secret
circlesandsocieties.'50
NihilismandPopulismgave directionforthe laterrevolutionary
groups.Theywere limitedintheirattainablegoalsbutitwasthe start of the
developmentof significantoppositiontothe state.
50 "Father of Terrorism", The Times, Feb 2, 1884

16. pg. 16
Chapter 3
Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats
Social Democrats must make it their duty not only to participate but also to play the
leading role in this civil war. The Social Democrats must train and prepare their
organizations to be really able to act as a belligerent side which does not miss a single
opportunity of inflicting damage on the enemy's forces51
- V.I.Lenin
The earlytwentiethcenturysaw increasingpolitical tensionsinRussia.The fragmented
terroristorganisationsof the late nineteenthcenturyhadall butbeendestroyedby
Tsaristrepression.Howeverafterthe successful assassinationof TsarAlexanderIIin
1881, oppositionwasstrongerthaneverdespite beingtemporarilydrivenunderground.
Because of the strong reactionaryapproachtakenbyhis successor,AlexanderIIIwho,
'chose not to dallywiththose policiesof reformwhichhadendedforhispredecessorso
disastrously.Hisfirstacthad beentothrow out a project for settingupconsultative
commissionswhichhadbeenintendedbyAlexanderIIasa concessiontothe educated
classes'.52
The reactionaryapproachwasalso followedbyNicholasIIwhotriedtorefuse
any constitutionalreform.Thereforethe revolutionary spiritsurvived.The movement
was takentoa whole newlevel,organisingitself intoaseriouspolitical threat.The
previouslysmall cellsof oppositionunitedintolargerpolitical entitiesandsome
significantgroupscontinuedwiththe terrortactics. AnnaGeifmandescribesterrorismin
the late nineteenthtoearlytwentiethcenturyasat'it's most explosivestage.'53
In
addressingthisperiod,thereare twosignificantpolitical entitiestoexamine:the Party
of SocialistRevolutionaries,whichdevelopedfromPopulists;andthe MarxistRussian
Social DemocratLabour Party,whichtookits ideologyfromthe GermanphilosopherKarl
Marx. The revolutionarieshadformedintoillegalpolitical parties,takinganew level of
professionalismandorderintothe revolution.Theylearnedfromthe mistakesof the
previousrevolutionarygroupsandcontinuedthe aspectsthattheybelievedcausedthe
governmentthe mosttrouble.
Followingthe successanddestructionof the People'sWill,the Populistslookedto'unite
theirforcesintocoherentandformidable political formations,todevelopmodern
ideological principles,andtodefine appropriate tacticsforcombatingthe autocratic
regime.'54
A collectionof Neo-Populistgroupsbecame the Partyof Socialist
Revolutionariesinlate 1901. The SocialistRevolutionarieswere the onlyleftistpartyto
51 Walter Laqueur, Voices of Terror (V.I. Lenin, Guerilla Warfare), p. 347
52 Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station (London, 1978) p. 363
53 Anna Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 3
54 ibid, p. 15

17. pg. 17
formallyincorporate terroristtacticsintoitsprogramand came to be perceivedasthe
'party of terror'55
.Theiraim,as describedintheirprogramme was;
International revolutionary socialismrepresents a consciousexpression,scientific
illumination,and formulation of this movement. Its aimis intellectual,political,and
economic emancipation of the working class.Itadvances aboveall asan initiating
revolutionary minority,as the fightingvanguard of the toilingmasses,tryingconstantly at
the same time to merge with the masses and incorporatethem into its ranks.Its basic
practical aimis to make all layers of the toilingand exploited people awake that they are one
working class,thatthat class istheonly hope of their freedom by means of a planned,
organised struggleto create a socio-revolutionary upheaval thatconsistsof:
1. Freeing of all public institutionsfromcontrol of the exploitingclasses.
2. Eliminating,alongsideprivateproperty in natural forces and in public means of
production,the very division of the society into classes.
3. Eliminatingthe contemporary, stratified,compulsory,repressivenatureof public
institutions whileatthe same time preservingand developing their normal cultural
functions;that is,planned organisation of public work for public good. 56
As Populismhadseensome successwiththe assassinationof some leadingstatesmen
includingTsarAlexanderII,the goal of the SocialistRevolutionariesbecame toorganise
and execute terroristattackswithimprovedcoherence. Althoughthe movementhad
barelysurvivedthe repercussionsof the assassinationof AlexanderII,the new century
saw a newenergy. Geifmandescribesthe yearsafter1905 as the 'bloodstainedyears'
as they'beganto directtheireffortsagainstlarge numbersof suchlow- rankingtargets
as policemen,gendarmes,prisonofficials'.57
Thisnew tacticshowedthe new perception
of howthe struggle wasto be conducted.The resistance hadinitiallygainedworldwide
publicitybecause,asthe Timeshadreported,'Alexanderhadbeenruthlesslymurdered
inthe streetsof hiscapital',58
now the threatof violence wasmuchgreater.The
improvedcoordinationbetweenPopulistssaw the effectivenessof the revolutionaries
increase significantly.Burleighstatesthat,'betweenthe 1860s and1900 had 'only'
causedaboutone hundredcasualties,evenif one of themhappenedtobe the Tsar of
Russia.However,inthe firstdecade of the twentiethcenturythere wasamassive
escalationof terroristatrocitiesinimperial Russia,withperhapsasmanyas seventeen
thousandpeople succumbingtoterroristactivitiesbetween1901 and 1916.'59
Targets
such as militarydetachmentsinEkaterinoslavandOdessawere bombedin1905, which
signifythe increasedmilitarismof the Party. Improvedco-ordinationmade the terrorist
threatmuch greater,especiallytokeyfigureswithinthe government,butitstill posed
no seriousthreattothe stabilityof the state.
55ibid, p. 45
56 'Program of the SocialistRevolutionary Party,1905'
[http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/srprog.html] Accessed 10/04/2013
57 Anne Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 69
58"Assassination of the Emperor of Russia " The Times March 14, 1881
59Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p. 56

18. pg. 18
The SocialistRevolutionarieshadcreatedaclimate of fear.They'insistedthattheirtactic
of political assassinationwasinseparablefromthe general struggleof the toiling
masses.'60
Forthemthe tactichad appearedtowork.Theyhad gainedmasspublicityand
the revolutionarymovementhadgrownsignificantly.The assassinationof the Tsarwas
justthe beginning,the startof the twentiethcenturysaw themattackmanykeysocial
and political figures. The justificationwasthattheywere usingeverytool necessaryto
compete inthe revolutionarystruggle.Howeverthe primarymotive behindthe
assassinationswasoftenrevenge.AsGeifmanstatesthe assassinationshad'more todo
withrevenge forwhatthe revolutionariesconsideredpastcrimesagainstthe people...
the SR boevilki(Guerrillabandsof terrorists) hadlittle interestintheirleadership's
primaryjustificationof the all-outclassstruggle of the toilingmasses.'61
The tacticwas
successful increatingaclimate of fearin the government,butnotsignificantenoughto
force positive reform.
One major successful revenge killingwasthe assassinationof Stolypin,the Russian
Prime Ministerof the State Duma from1906 until 1911. Stolypinwasassassinatedby
DmitryBogrov whohad linkswiththe SocialistRevolutionaries.Stolypinmetthe
specificationsof the SocialistRevolutionariestobe targetedforassassination.Even
before he became Prime Ministerof the State Dumaan attemptwasmade on hislife.
An article inthe NewYork Times followingafailedassassinationattemptonStolypinin
1906, that lefttwentyeightdead(includinghis15 yearold daughter) duringaparty in
hiscountryhome,quotedhimas havingsaid,"Ihave no doubtthat attemptswill be
made uponmy life, butIhope orderwill be restoredandstabilityestablishedinRussia
before theyare successful".62
The statementsuggeststhatthe terroristtacticswere
makingan impacton those ingovernment,Stolypinfearedthatthe terroristswould
eventuallyexecute him.
The attempthappenedlessthanayear afterthe implementationof the 'Stolypin
Necktie'.Stolypinspearheadedastrongreactionarymovementthatbecame knownas
the 'StolypinNecktie'.Itwasa speedycourtsystemtoquicklyprocessrevolutionaries.
Overthree thousandrevolutionarieswereexecutedasa resultbetween1906 and 1909.
The New YorkTimes stated:
SinceM. Stolypin has been at the head of affairs has ordered repressivemeasures of
greater severity and of a more extensive character than has been the casein Russia in
many years.The jails all over the empire are full,the number of persons banished to
Siberia has been enormous, newspapers have been suppressed,many Revolutionaries
60Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 46
61ibid, p. 47
62 'Bomb Kills28,Hurts Stolypin' New York Times, August 26, 1906

19. pg. 19
have been executed, and outrages by Terrorists havebeen frequently followed by
indiscriminateshootingby the troops and the killingof inoffensivepersons.63
The Stolypinnecktie made himaprimarytargetforpolitical revenge,he became abitter
enemyof the Revolution.The SocialistRevolutionarieseventuallysucceededin
assassinationStolypinin1911. Revenge forhispoliciessomucha part of the growing
revolutionarymovementwasnodoubta majormotive.However,asGeifmanargues,
theirmotiveswere alsothe protectionof the movementandtostrike fearintothe
Tsaristgovernment.64
Stolypinwasone of the biggesttargetsthatthe Socialist
Revolutionarieshadmanagedtoremove,infact.Correspondingly, TheTimes statedthat
he 'diedat the hands of one of those assassinswhohadlongsoughtto kill him'.65
The
constantterror successeswere suchthatfearwas spreading,'local officials,livingin
constant"terrible panic,"admittedbeingcompletelypowerlesstocontrol events'.66
Howeverincreasedterrorattacksfailedtocreate the revolutionarysituationthe
SocialistRevolutionarieswere hopingtoachieve.
The SocialistRevolutionariesandThe MarxistSocial DemocratLabourParty (orSocial
Democrats) were bothextreme leftwingparties. The SocialistRevolutionarieswerea
revolutionarygroupthatbelievedthatterrorismwaskeytothe destructionof
autocracy. Theywere still influencedbyMarx butdidnot agree withsome of the key
principlesof Marxism.Leninbelievedthat'The bourgeoisstate mustbe destroyed
because itcannot be usedforproletarian purposes[...] Everyrulingclassdominates
societyinitsownpeculiarway'.67
Russia'ssituationwasunique andtherefore tacticshad
to be adoptedto meetthe situation.AsGeifmanexplains:
According to the standard interpretation of orthodox Marxist doctrine, an isolated
individual actfailsto influencehistorical development in any significant way. Only mass
movements can be considered agents of history,with alterations in political systems [...]
Since the individual's role in history is so limited, his physical elimination can produce
only an equally minimal change in the overall historical process, no matter how
seemingly important his position is. It follows then that one-man terrorist acts are
nothing more than futile attempts by courageous and selfless idealists to change the
iron laws of history.68
The Social Democratsbelievedinterrorismasa meanstoan end.Theirterror tactics
were more focusedonthe supportof the movementthan individual political
assassinations. AsLeninwrote in1899: 'We do not believe inconspiracies,we renounce
63 ibid
64Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 47
65 'M. Stolypin' The Times, September 19, 1911
66 Anne Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 40
67 John Plamenatz, German Marxism and Russian Communism (London, 1966),p. 244
68Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 46

20. pg. 20
individualrevolutionaryventurestodestroythe government'.69
The Social Democratsdid
not believe inthe individual revolutionaryassassinations of the keypolitical figuresasa
wayof causingrevolution.The Social Democratsinsteadusedterrortacticssuchas bank
robberiesandcoercioninorderto fundthe party.As Crenshaw explains,'leading
Marxiststook whatevertheyfoundusefulinthe revolutionarystruggle fromnihilism
and populismincludingterroristacts.'70
VladimirIlyichUlyanovwasthe firstleaderof the BolshevikParty.The Social Democrats
splitintotwofactionsin1903 the BolsheviksandMensheviks,due todifferenceof
opinioninorganisational structure. Terroristattacksandrobberieswere still
undertakenbybothBolsheviksandMenshevikstogetherdespitethe split.The party
remainedfragmentedbutintactuntil 1912 whenthe splitbecame official.UnderLenin's
leadership the Bolshevikswere able toseize powerin1917. 'Lenin'as he wasknown,
became heavilyinvolvedinrevolutionarygroupsfollowingthe executionof hisbrother
Aleksandrin1887. EdmundWilsonattributesAleksandr,athistrial,assaying"Our
intelligentsiaissounorganisedandsophysicallyweakthattheyare at the presenttime
inno positiontoengage inan openfight...Thisweakintelligentsia,notpossessedbythe
interestsof the masses,...candefenditsrighttothinkonlybymethodsof terrorism".71
Aleksandrwasabig influence onLenin. Leninwasjustseventeenwhenhisbrotherwas
executedforhisrole inaplot toassassinate the Tsar, the same yearLeninwasexpelled
fromKazan Universityforparticipatinginstudentprotests.72
Despitethis Lenin
furtheredhisstudiesinlawandpoliticsandbecame veryinvolvedinthe revolutionary
movement.Lenin'sinvolvementresembledthatof the intelligentsia'stacticsof
encouragingrevolution.He wrote widelybothonthe SD newspaper, Pravda,aswell as
pamphletsonrevolutionarypolitics,includinganextendedpolitical pamphletcalled
Whatis to Be Done?,adoptingthe name of a famousnovel abouta revolutionaryby
Cherynovsky.
Lenin,however,alsosecretlyledathree-mancabal toraise moneythroughbank
robberiesandorganisedcrime rackets. The collectionof moneywascalled
'expropriations',separate groupsoperatedaroundRussiacollectingmoneyforthe party.
Geifmanstatesthatoverone hundredexpropriationswere carriedoutinthe Urals.The
local leader,IvanKadomtsevwasresponsible formanyof these,confiscatingweapons
and explosivesfromgovernmentdepotsandalsodisarmingindividual soldiersand
gendarmes.73
Leninunderstoodthe importance of combiningterroristtacticswiththe
political struggle.The political movementhadstartedtodevelopintosomething
69'Our Immediate Tasks'
[http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1899/articles/arg3oit.htm] accessed 11/4/2013
70 Martha Crenshaw, Terrorism in Context (Pennsylvania,2007) p.66
71 Edmund Wilson, To the Finland Station , p. 365
72 'Timeline of V.I. Lenin' [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/bio/timeline.htm] Accessed
21/3/2013
73 Anne Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 116

21. pg. 21
substantial followingthe OctoberManifestoof 1905 and a real forumfor political
debate.There wasincreasedcoordinationwiththe newspapersthattheyusedto
publicise the struggle.Leninadvocatedterrorismbecause itcouldbe usedto
supplementthe cause.Before the revolution,Bolshevikterrorismwasusually
undertakeninordertoattainresourcesratherthan to publicise itself withthe ideaof
‘propagandaof the deed’. Leninhadgreatrespectfor the movementsthathadfought
for revolutionandBurleighclaimsthathe 'explicitlyrecommendedPeople'sWill asa
model of conspiratorial organisation'.74
Maintainingalevelof secrecywasessential to
the revolutionarymovement,anditwasbecause legitimate political partieswere
bannedthatconspiratorial organisationwasnecessary.The ruthlesswayinwhich
revolutionarieswere combatedbythe governmentmeantthat, foranorganisationto
survive,itmustuse guerrillatacticsorface eradication.Thisinturnforcedthe
revolutionariestobecome more violent.Hill attributesLeninassaying,'itisnot
sufficientforrevolutionthatthe exploitedandoppressedmassesunderstandthe
impossibilityof livinginthe oldwayand demandchanges;forrevolution,itisnecessary
that the exploitersshouldnotbe able tolive inthe oldway.'75
Althoughmuchmore
temperate minded,itcouldeasilybe one of Neycheyev'spointsinthe Revolutionary
Catechism.Nonetheless,Lenin'srole interroristactivitieswasnothandson,but his
contributiontothe revolutionwasmore of athreat to the state than terrorismeverwas.
Lenincouldsee the usefulnessinterrorismasa tactic, howeverhe wasanintellectual
and had seenhisbrotherexecuted.Hisimportancetothe revolutionmeantthathe
himself wouldnotbe a goodterror agent,itcouldalsohave compromisedhisstanding
withinthe party.He insteadusedthe talentsof a youngGeorgianwhobecame
somethingof arevolutionarygangster.Josef Djugashvili,whousedasmanyas 40
aliases76
butbecame knownasStalin,wasLenin'srighthandman anda ‘hands-on’
terrorist.Stalin'suse of revolutionarygangsterismsaw himquicklybecome auseful
assetto Leninwho,despite the SocialistDemocrats’banonterrortactics followingthe
OctoberManifesto,knewthatitwasan essential revolutionarytool.Montefiore
documentsStalin'searlylife inhisbook, Young Stalin.ThisexaminesStalin'searlylife,
comingacross newpolitical ideaswhile attendingaseminaryandhow he grew froma
promisingstudentintoaviolentrevolutionary.Hisdevelopmentisfascinating,he was
intellectual andfrustratedwithsociety.He joinedrevolutionarycirclesandeventually
metLenin,whomhe admired.
WhenStalinjoinedthe Bolshevikshisprimaryrole wasthe collectionof moneytofund
the party. Montefiore claimsthat,of the moneyStalinmanagedtoattain,he keptlittle
himself andlivedmodestly.Thisshowsthe level of commitmentthathe gave to the
revolution.Perhapsthe mostastonishingfeatthatwasundertakenbyStalinwasabank
74Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 303
75 Christopher Hill, Lenin and the Russian Revolution (Middlesex,1971),p. 30
76Simon Montefiore, Young Stalin (London, 2007) p. 323

22. pg. 22
robberyat Tiflisin1907. AsMontefiore explains,'LeninhadsecretlymetwithStalinto
orderthe bigheist,eventhoughtheirSocial-DemocraticPartyhadbannedall
'expropriations',the euphemismforbankrobberies.' 77
Inthisway,terrortactics were
usedto supplementthe Social Democratseconomically.Stalin'smostfamousheist,
whichhe plannedbutwasnot immediatelyinvolvedinwasreportedbythe New York
Times as 'Bomb KillsMany;$170,000 Captured'.78
Bombshadbecome a commontool of
the revolutionaries,the robberykillingafew andinjuringover50 people,Montifiore
concludesthat,'none of the gangsterswas caught'.79
But it isthoughtthat Stalinwasin
positionoverseeingthe robberywhichhe hadplanned.Hisgeneral,Kamo,successfully
transportedthe moneydressedasapolice officer.Successessuchasthiswere a huge
boostfor the revolutionarymovementandmade the Tsaristgovernmentfeel helplessto
stopthem.
The evolutionof terrortacticshad spreadfearamongstthe population.The
revolutionarymovementgainedsupportbecause of the waythe state respondedtothe
attacks. Crushingrepressionwasimplementedasa tacticto combat the increased
terror,though it onlyworkedtoheightenthe tensions. Increasedcoordinationin
attacks made thema subjectof international news. TheNew YorkTimes reportedin
1906 that, 'the terroristshave become more active thanever.Inthe weekendedAug18
fifty-eightofficialswere assassinatedandfortythree were wounded'.80
The marked
increase inactual attacks showshow much the movementhadexpanded.Fearwas
successfullyspread.'The populationwasterrorizedandintimidatedtosuchanextent
that insome areas undertakersandpriestswere afraidtoprovide theirservicesforthe
victimsof revolutionaryterror,andclose relativeswere toofrightenedtoshow upat
theirfunerals'.81
The revolutionarymovementwasmuchstrongerbutstill innoposition
to pose a seriousthreattothe government.Terrortacticswere significantinthe
movementbutitwasstill notenoughtoencourage the popularsupportneededtopose
a real challenge.LeninandStalincombinedthe political side of revolutionwiththe
practical side.Money wasrequiredtofundthe enterprise andthe endgoal justifiedthe
means.
77ibid, p. 1
78 'Bomb KillsMany;$170,000 Captured', New York Times, 27 June 1907
79 Simon Montefiore, Young Stalin, p. 10
80 "Bomb Kills 28,Hurts Stolypin", New York Times, August 26, 1906
81Anna Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 43

23. pg. 23
Chapter 4
State Repression
It is true, then, that the terrorists deserves to be treated as an outlawif anyone does;
but finally I assertthat no one can be treated as an outlaw. A terroristcan and ought to
be punished,but the punishment must remain within the limits setby our common
history.82 - Gerstein
State repressionandthe statesresponse torevolutionaryviolence mustbe takeninto
considerationwhenexploringthe significanceof the terroristthreatinTsaristRussia.It
seemedthatforeveryactionthere wasa much strongerstate reaction.Revolutionaries
and liberal thinkershadtopushfor eventhe smallestconcessions.Thispartlyexplains
whythe revolutionariesresortedtosuchextreme measures.AsVeraFignerexplains:
Peaceful methods had been forbidden me; we had of course no free press, so that was
impossible to think of propagating ideas by means of printed word. If any organ of
society had printed out to me another course than violence, I might have chosen it, at
least I would have tried it. But I have seen no protest from the Zemstvo, or from the
courts, or from any institution whatsoever; neither had literature exerted any influence
to change the life which we were leading , and so I concluded that the only escape from
the position in which we found ourselves, lay in militant resistance.83
Revolutionariesresortedtousingthetacticof force againstforce.The revolutionary
movementbegan,forthe mostpart,peacefully.Forinstance,the Pilgrimageof the
People wasapeaceful movement,simplytryingtopoliticise the peasantstoendtheir
exploitation.Neycheyevtoowasinvolvedinstudentprotestsandotherpeaceful
movementsbefore he resortedtoextremistterrortactics.Revolutionarieswere
considered athreatto the state,so the state respondedtoeventhe smallestprotest
withan oftenbrutal reaction.
In 1877 FyodorTrepov,the Governorof St Petersburg,orderedthe floggingof a political
prisoner.The floggingwasunlawful andledtothe protestsof manypolitical prisoners.
The response wasan attemptedassassinationwhichsaw Trepovseverelywounded;
however,he eventuallymade afull recovery.The would-be assassinwasVeraZasulich.
Zasulichhadbecome a revolutionaryafterbecominginvolvedwithNeycheyevandhis
political friends.WhenNeycheyevfledRussiahe hadaskedpermissiontosendletters
for otherpersonsthroughheraddress.Zasulichwastargetedforherinvolvementwith
Neycheyevbutno evidence wasfoundtoindicate anyinvolvement.She was
'incarceratedwithoutanyexplanation'in1870 andwas exiledthenplacedunderpolice
82 Rappaportand Alexander(ed)s, The Morality of Terrorism Religeous and Secular Justifications
(Oxford, 1983) p. 304
83Vera Figner, Memoires of a Revolutionist, p. 164

24. pg. 24
supervisionuntil 1875.84
The unlawful treatmentof Zasulichwaspartof her defence in
the trial that took place followingthe shooting.The courtcase saw manyfellow inmates
appearas witnessesandgive testimonyof theirhardshipsandmistreatments.Here isan
extracttakenfrom,her defence attorney,Alexandrov'sclosingspeech:
for the first time there appears here to be a woman who had no personal interest in her
crime, a woman who bound up her crime with the fight for an idea, for the sake of a
man who was for her no more than a companion in distress. If these reasons for a crime
prove lighter on the scale of public justice, if she must be punished for the sake of
general welfare, the triumph of justice and public safety - then let your chastising take
place! Indeed, she may leave this court condemned, but not disgraced, and one may
only wish that circumstances which provoke such actions and generate such culprits
should not be repeated.85
Zasulich wasacquittedforthe crime,andthe defence made itappearthather
circumstanceshadalmostforcedthe reaction.More broadly,the same can be saidfor
the revolutionarymovementasa whole.The case issymbolicof the widersituation.
That revolutionarieswere victimsof circumstance andthereforecannotbe blamedfor
theirreactiontothe violentrepressiontheyare subjectedto.Inrealitythe terrorist
threat,especiallyinthe late nineteenthcenturywasnotsubstantial.Howeverthe wayin
whichthe governmentreacted,strongrepressive tacticsthatwere oftenoutof
proportion,showedsignsof fearfromthe government.AsBurleighstates, 'the
response of a governmentthatexhibitedsignsof panicaidedandabettedthem'.86
The catastrophicresult of the Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905)damaged the securityof
the state more thanany revolutionarymovement.Warwasthe most seriousthreatto
the stabilityof Russia.Revolutionary movementshadgainedsupportfollowingthe
CrimeanWar, butsome fiftyyearslaterthe RussoJapanese Warsaw furtherproblems
and increasedtensionsuntilWorldWarI saw the state weakenedenoughforafull,
successful revolution. Itwasthe government'sresponse thatwasresponsibleforthe
1905 revolutions.A peaceful demonstrationof around150,000-200,000 people wasled
by FatherGapon to presentthe Tsara petition. Manywere still underthe impression
that the Tsar was unaware of the situationof hispeopleandthatif he knew aboutit,he
wouldhelpthem.Howeverthe Tsarwas notpresentat the WinterPalace whenthe
petitionwasdelivered.Insteadhisguardsopenedfire andkilledapproximately1,000
protestors, wounding3,000 more.87
The brutalityof the response tothe protest,inturn,
sparkedthe 1905 revolution.Revolutionariesfailedtograsphow quicklythe situation
wouldspinoutof control of the Tsarist government.There were masscivil uprisingsand
the Tsar wasforcedto concede some constitutional reforms.The revolutionarygroups
84 'The Caseof Vera Zasulich', The Russian Review, Volume 11, April 1952,p. 87-88
85 A.F. Koni,Vospominaniya o dele Very Zasulich (Moscow,1933) p. 166-193
86Burleigh,Earthly Powers, p. 302
87 David Welch,Modern European History a Documentary Reader 1871-2000 (Oxon,2009) p. 48

25. pg. 25
that were inexistence at the time failedtoseize powerduringthe revolution,which
putsintoperspective howdangeroustheywere tothe state;notable to capitalise on
the mass revolutionarymovementthattheyhadbeenplanningfornearlyhalf acentury.
The SocialistRevolutionariesandthe Social Democratswere notalwaysengagedintit
for tat violence,however.Yetitwasa primaryreasonfor acts of violence especiallywith
the SocialistRevolutionaries.Crenshaw suggeststhatthey 'frequentlyjustifiedtheir
deedsasacts of vengeance.Thiswasdone inthe name of an individualoranentire
society.'88
SocialistRevolutionaryviolenceofteninvolvedrevengekillingsof officials
consideredenemiesof the people–usuallyforspecificacts.Forexample Stolypinwasa
primarytarget forthe implementationof the 'StolypinNecktie'.Revolutionarieshad
facedthe violence of the state andhad become hardenedtoit.Theywere therefore less
inhibitedtolaunchviolentattacks.HaroldShukmansimilarlysuggestsonthispointthat
the 'Bolshevikswere onlywillingtodispense thatwhichtheywere alsowillingto
suffer'.89
Revolutionaryactivitywasinseparablefromviolence,anditwasa tactic
necessaryforcombatingthe violence thatthe state usedtorepressthe political
activists.Crenshawstatesthat,'RussianRevolutionariestransformedtheirplightintoa
crystalline culture of violence',90
butinrealitythe revolutionarieshadbeenforcedtouse
violence asothermethodswere frustratedbyagovernmentwhichdidnotrespect its
ownlaws.
TerrorisminRussiahad become entwinedwiththe Revolutionarymovement.The
measurestakentoreduce the tensionswere notenough.Insteadof concessionsthat
wouldbringRussiaintothe twentiethcentury,apolicyof repressionwastaken
throughoutthe reignof AlexanderIIIandNicholasII.Withreference tothe repressive
tactics,Hill statesthat 'a governmentwhichemployedsuchmethodsinatime of peace
was clearlyatwar witha large sectionof itsown people'.91
Escalationof the
revolutionarysituationwasdue tothe mismanagementof the situation. TheTimes
commentedthatterrorismwasa resultof 'the abnormal state of affairsinRussiatends
to encourage'.92
Russia'sunique situationasanautocracy inthe earlytwentiethcentury
was gainingattentionfromthe otherworldpowers,whowatchedonasthe situation
became evermore dangerous.The revolutionarysituationwashandledbadlybecause
the governmentwasterrifiedbyanythoughtor actionit didnotcontrol.93
State
response changedarelativelysmall movementintosomethingmuchmore substantial,
88 Martha Crenshaw, Terrorism in Context (Pennsylvania,2007) p.60
89Harold Shukman, Totalitarian Movements and Political Religeons, Redefining Stalinism (London,
2003) p. 97
90ibid, p. 98
91 Christopher Hill, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, p. 31
92 'Father of Terrorism' The Times, Feb 2 1881
93 Christopher Hill, Lenin and the Russian Revolution, p. 31

26. pg. 26
simplybecause of the strongreactionarypolicythatwasfollowed.The revolutionary
movementbecame adangertothe governmentandterroristtacticshelpedtoproduce
the fear,threateningpsychologicallyratherthanposinga physical threattothe stability
of the state.
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Of course, the government may continue to arrest and hang a great multitude of
separate individuals. It may destroy many revolutionary groups. Let us grant that it will
destroy even the most important of the existing revolutionary organisations. This will
not change the state of affairs in the least. The conditions under which we are living ,
the general dissatisfaction of the people, Russia'saspiration towards a new order of life,
all these create revolutionists. You cannot exterminate the whole Russian people, you
cannot therefore destroy its discontent by means of reprisals; on the contrary,
discontent grows thereby.94 - The Execution Committee of The People's Will, Letter to
Tsar Alexander III
Acts of terrorismalone nevertrulythreatenedtooverthrow the Tsaristregime.Yetit
became a commonlyusedbyrevolutionariesbecauseitwasone of the few tactics that
createdan impactin an autocraticsociety.Despite thisthe effectsof terrorismwere
limited,asCharlesTownsendexplains,'the mostrepressivestateswere the least
vulnerable toterroristattack - preciselybecausethere publicopinionwaspolitically
insignificant'.95
The revolutionarymovementinRussiawasa slow process,Crenshaw
statesthat 'In April 1866 Dmitrii Karakozov'sattemptonthe life of the Tsar yielded
"White Terror"and the beginningof along,bitterwarwiththe revolutionaries.'96
Its
developmentwasrepressedsuccessfullybythe state,whobecame efficientatdealing
withrevolutionaries.Inthe late nineteenthcenturythe revolutionarymovement
94 Vera Figner, Memoires of a Revolutionist, p. 306
95 Charles Townsend, Terrorism a Very Short Introduction, p. 59
96 Martha Crenshaw, Terrorism in Context, p. 69

27. pg. 27
seemedtohave peakedwiththe assassinationof the AlexanderII,whichwasmetwith
reactionaryforce fromthe new Tsar, AlexanderIII.Assassinationsdidlittle tothreaten
the securityof the state,as Eric Hobsbawmexplains,'While terrorismdidnot
significantlyweakentsarism, itgave the Russianrevolutionarymovementitshigh
international profile'.97
Organisedterrorismwasusedforover60 yearsinimperial
Russiaand the governmenthadbecome increasinglyefficientatdealingwithit.
Althoughthe attacksbecame betterorganisedandthe organisationsbecame more
advanced,before the outbreakof warin1914, there wasno threatto the constitutional
powerof the Tsar, he remainedfirmlyincontrol of the armyand the police force.Infact
by 1913 Tsardomseemedwellentrenchedthe tercentenaryof the Romanovdynasty.
Terrorismalone wasnotenoughto remove andreplace the Tsar,it wassimplya tool
usedto cause trouble andstirdiscontent.
Terrorismwasnot an immediate political threattothe state,howeverbecauseit
providedanoutletforpolitical resistance itgainedsupportandbecame athreat to
individualswithinthe governmentapparatus.Terrorismworkedpsychologically,
especiallywiththe escalationof violence inthe earlytwentiethcentury,manyin
governmentbecame targetsforterroristgroups.'in1905 membersof the imperial
familyandthe court, as well asa numberof top officialsof the tsaristadministration,all
prime potential targetsforterroristattacks,voluntarilysubmittedthemselvestovirtual
house arrest.'98
The terroristsjustifiedtheiractsasopposinga repressiveregimeandthe
international mediawasoftensympathetic.Political partiesformedbuttheywere illegal
(until 1905) and treat similarlytoterrorists,thisdrove themundergroundand
encouragedterrortacticsas a measure of protectingthe revolutionarymovement.The
governmentrepressionledtodesperation,the revolutionarymustbe...
Hard towards himself, he must be hard towards others also. All the tender and
effeminate emotions of kinship, friendship, love, gratitude, and even honour must be
stifled in him by a cold and single minded passion for the revolutionary cause.99
Revolutionwasthe lifeworkof many,whowere preparedtospendlongtermsinprison
or exile andwere willingtorisktheirlivesforpolitical change.The extreme
circumstanceswhichallowpeople tothinklike thisare rare andit wasthe failure of the
state that allowedincreasingnumbersof revolutionariestoexistandjoinextremist
groups.While terrorismitself wasnota seriousthreattothe government,the
circumstancesthatallowedthe creationof revolutionarieswillingtolaydowntheirlives,
was whatultimatelyallowedthe governmenttobe toppled,once warandfamine had
weakenedit.AsYvesTernonexplains Tsaristrule wasshakenbythe repeatedterrorist
97Eric Hobsbawm, The Age of Empire, p. 295
98 Anne Geifman, Thou Shalt Kill, p. 41
99 Walter Laqueur, Voices of Terror, p 72

28. pg. 28
strikes,althoughthese were notthe directcause of itssuddencollapse in1917’.100
Terrorismhoweverlaidthe basisforthe extrememeasuresrevolutionarieswerewilling
to take.The Bolshevikscapitalisedonthe Revolutionsof 1917, gatheringthe supportof
the urban workersandusingmilitarytacticsthatwere well practisedtoseize power
fromthe provisionalgovernment. Burleighstatesthat,'asforthe terrorists,manyof
themslippedeffortlesslyintothe apparatusof state terrorthat Leninandhiscomrades
established'101
,terrorismbecameintrinsictothe revolutionarygroupsanditwasa tactic
that continuedafterthe Bolshevikstookpower.
In August 1918 Lenin wrote to the Bolsheviks on Penza that the kulak risingthere must
be crushed without pity:
1) Hang (and I mean hang so that the people can see) not less than 100 known kulaks,
rich men, bloodsuckers.
2) Publish their names.
3) Take all their grain away from them.
4) Identify hostages as we described in our telegram yesterday.
Do this so that for hundreds of miles around the people can see, tremble, know and cry:
they are killingand will go on killingthe bloodsuckingkulaks.Cablethatyou have
received this and carried out[your instructions].Yours,Lenin.
P.S. Find tougher people.102
100 Chaliand and Blin (ed), The History of Terrorism From Antiquity to Al Qaeda (London, 2007) p.
132
101 Burleigh,Blood and Rage, p. 66
102 Jonathon Glover, Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century (Yale, 2000) p. 241- 242

29. pg. 29
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