User:Nas197/Beznachalie
Beznachalie was a St. Petersburg-based anarcho-communist group that operated between 1904 and 1906[1]. It propelled late-imperialist anarchist movements through its production and distribution of literature.[2]
Organization
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Beznachalie's founder and leader was Nikolai "Bidbei" Romanov.[2] Born to a wealthy family in the Caucasus region, Bidbei was a student and Social Democrat until his imprisonment in Kresty. Later, he relocated to Paris, where he became an anarcho-communist.[3] Beznachalie operated out of Paris until December of 1905, when it merged with the similar but less radical group, Anarkhisty-Obshchinniki in St. Petersburg.[2] By this time, there were twelve members, including eleven students and one female doctor.[3] The group produced literature for other anarchist terrorist groups, including instructions for bomb assembly. [3] Beznachalie emphasized individual terrorist acts, and most lone-wolf terrorists between 1905 and 1906 claimed association with the group.[3]
Dmitrii Bogoliubov, an anarchist who became a spy for the Okhrana after an arrest, exposed Beznachalie in January of 1906.[3] Only one member escaped prosecution, and by the summer of 1906, the group was effectively disbanded. Its influence outlasted its operations, as Beznachalie's activities inspired Tambov's 1908 peasant uprising.[2]
Ideology and Influences
[edit]Beznachalie was an anarcho-communist group, and, similar to Chernoe Znamia, a proponent of motiveless terror as a means of initiating class struggle. The group's slogan was "Death to the bourgeoise!" and it advocated violence against anyone who owned property.[1] Unlike other groups, including Chernoe Znamia, Beznachalie condemned employment and union membership as unprogressive, encouraging theft from the wealthy instead.[3] Additionally, Beznachalie condemned religion and the family as bourgeoisie.[2] Bidbei was personally inspired by earlier revolutionaries, Sergei Nechaev and Mikhail Bakunin, who galvanized his support for the lumpenproletariat (although the group was mostly constituted of students).[1] Max Stirner, Benjamin Tucker, and Friedrich Nietzsche also influenced Beznachalie's individualist emphasis.[2] Despite the group's composition and activities distributing literature, it expressed staunchly anti-intellectualist positions.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Geifman, Anna, 1962- (1993). Thou shalt kill : revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-08778-4. OCLC 27266814.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Avrich, Paul. (2015). Russian Anarchists. Princeton University Press. ISBN 1-322-88677-6. OCLC 903321735.
- ^ a b c d e f Gooderham, P. (1981). The anarchist movement in Russia, 1905-1917 (Ph.D. thesis). University of Bristol.