The Russian Revolution has just entered its thirteenth year, a lapse of time sufficient for a social upheaval, even one of this scale, to prove itself.
What, then, is the current status of the country of “the most formidable” revolution? This question constantly occurs to a multitude of people, of all tendencies and social conditions who, drowning in the most varied and contradictory information end up by losing any hope of arriving at an exact notion of things there. Even our comrades are not always immune to fantastic rumors that they all too often don’t know how to reply to with rigorous and documented facts.
In a series of more or less regular articles we will attempt to provide readers of “La Revue... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) NIHILISM n. m. (from Latin nihil, nothing)
A deeply rooted and widely spread misunderstanding is closely linked to this word born, 75 years ago, in the Russian literature and passed without being translated (thanks to its Latin origin), into other languages.
In France, in Germany, in England and elsewhere, one usually understands by “nihilism” a current of ideas — or even a system — revolutionary and social politics, invented in Russia, having there (or having had) numerous organized partisans. We routinely speak of a “nihilist party” and of “the nihilists,” its members. All this is false. It is time to correct that error, at least for the readers of the Anarchist Encyclopedia.
... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) First Article
I.
Legend maintains that Jesus Christ gave no response to the question of Pontius Pilate: “What is truth?” And it is very likely that in these tragic moments he hardly had the heart to concern himself with philosophical arguments. But even if he had had the time and the desire to engage in a controversy concerning the essence of truth, it would not have been easy for him to respond in a definitive manner.
Many centuries have passed since then. Humanity has made more than one step toward knowledge of the world. The question of Pontius Pilate has troubled humanity, it has made people think, work and seek in all directions, and it has brought suffering to a great number of minds. The ways and methods ... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Pogrom, noun, masculine.
Word directly adopted with a precise and even a special meaning by other languages, and in particular French.
Philologically the word pogrom is composed of the root “grom” and the prefix “po.” (Note in this respect that the word “progrom,” frequently employed by the French press in the place and with the meaning of pogrom is an error, a mutilation of the real term. The word “progrom” has no meaning, the prefix “pro” in Russian having a meaning that cannot be adapted to the root “grom.” The word “progrom” is thus non-existent.) Using the root “grom” the Russian language forms the verb “gromit” whi... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) I’ve just been reading an extract from a letter from our valiant comrade A[lfonso] Petrini [1] who is in the USSR, under banishment. There I came upon the following lines: “(...) They’re locking us all up, one by one. Real revolutionaries may not enjoy freedom in Russia. Freedom of the press and freedom of speech have been wiped out, so there is no difference between Stalin and Mussolini.”
I have deliberately emboldened the last phrase, for it is spot on. However, for the accuracy of this short phrase and all its ghastly realism to be appreciated, it is essential that we have a deep and clear-cut grasp of fascism: deeper and more clear cut than is generally the case in leftist circles.
On the basis of s... Reasons for the Weakness of the Anarchist Movement
The Anarchist Synthesis
Anarchism as a Theory of Classes
The Role of the Masses and Anarchism in the Social Struggle and the Social Revolution
The Transition Period
Production
Defense of the Revolution
Anarchist Organization
Method of Creating an Anarchist Organization
Role and Character of Anarchist Organizations
Form of Anarchist Organization
Reasons for the Weakness of the Anarchist Movement
We do not agree with the position of the Platform ‘that the most important reason for the weakness of the anarchist movement is the absence of organizational principles’. We believe that this issue is very important because the Platform seeks to establi... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) We designate by the term “anarchist synthesis” a tendency existing presently in the heart of the libertarian movement, seeking to reconcile and then to “synthesize” the different currents of ideas that divide this movement into several fractions, more or less hostile to one another. It is a question, at base, of unifying, to a certain degree, anarchist theory and also the anarchist movement in a harmonious, organized, finished whole. I say “to a certain degree,” since, naturally, the anarchist idea could never, should never become rigid, immutable, stagnant. It must remain flexible, living, rich in varied ideas and tendencies. But flexibility must not signify confusion. And, on the other hand, between imm... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) To all intellectual and manual workers: At a time when humanity,
led by madmen, strivers and hypocrites, is collapsing under the
repeated blows of greedy profiteers of
all sorts, we are once again making a sincere appeal to all
reasonable and practical individuals to try to avoid total
destruction and to take advantage of the present chaos to turn
their efforts toward a rational and humane form of social
organization. It is undeniably the fault of all governments
that the blood of workers has been flowing in torrents in all
countries for three years. Although Hitler and Mussolini most
directly provoked the conflict, others were also responsible;
including international financiers. Industrial and financial
trusts bankrolled the I... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Part II. The Jolt (1905–1906)
Chapter 1. The Gaponist Epic; First General Strike
In Moscow Zubatov was fairly quickly unmasked. He was not able to accomplish a great deal. But in St. Petersburg the affair went much better. Gapon, very crafty, working in the shadows, knew how to win the confidence and even the affection of groups of workers. Genuinely talented as an agitator and organizer, he succeeded in setting up so-called “Workers’ Sections” which he personally led and which he stimulated with his energetic activity. Toward the end of 1904 there were eleven of these sections, located in different areas of the capital, with a membership of several thousands.
Workers voluntarily attended these “Sections... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Chapter 4. Some Reflections
Naturally the popular masses could not recognize all the subtleties of these different interpretations. It was impossible for them — even when they had made some contact with our ideas — to understand the real significance of the differences in question. The Russian workers, of all the workers in the world, were the least familiar with political matters. They could not be aware either of the machiavellianism or the danger of the Bolshevik interpretation.
I recall the desperate efforts with which I tried to warn the city workers, in so far as it was possible, by word of mouth and by writing, of the imminent danger for the true Revolution in the event that the masses let the Bolshevik Party entrench... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.) Chapter 4. Kronstadt Turns Against the Bolshevik Imposture
We are now approaching the crucial point of the Kronstadt epic: its desperate and heroic struggle, in March, 1921, against the usurpations of the Bolsheviks, and the consequent termination of its independence.
The first dissensions between the men of Kronstadt and the new government took place almost immediately after the October Revolution. The slogan of All Power to the Local Soviets meant to Kronstadt the independence of each locality, of each Soviet, of each social organization in the matters which concerned it alone. It meant the right to take initiatives, to make decisions, and to act without asking permission from the “center”. According to this interpretation... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
