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3.5
Catechism of a Revolutionist: Catechism of a Revolutionary (1)
ByPublisher Description
The Catechism of a Revolutionary refers to a manifesto written by Russian revolutionary Sergey Nechayev between April and August 1869.
The manifesto is an authoritarian manual for the formation of secret societies.
It is debated how much input Bakunin had or if it is solely the work of Nechayev. The work called for total devotion to a revolutionary lifestyle. Its publication in the Government Herald in July 1871 as the manifesto of the Narodnaya Rasprava secret society was one of the most dramatic events of Nechayev's revolutionary life, through its words and the actions it inspired establishing Nechayev's importance for the Nihilist movement. The Catechism is divided into two sections; General Rules of the Organisation and Rules of Conduct of Revolutionaries, 22 and 26 paragraphs long respectively; abridged versions were published as excerpts in the anarchist periodicals Freiheit and The Alarm.
The most radical document of its age, the Catechism outlined the authors' revolutionary Jacobin program of organisation and discipline, a program that became the backbone of the radical movement in Russia. The revolutionary is portrayed in the Catechism as an amoral avenging angel, an expendable resource in the service of the revolution, committed to any crime or treachery necessary to effect the downfall of the prevailing order.
The manifesto is an authoritarian manual for the formation of secret societies.
It is debated how much input Bakunin had or if it is solely the work of Nechayev. The work called for total devotion to a revolutionary lifestyle. Its publication in the Government Herald in July 1871 as the manifesto of the Narodnaya Rasprava secret society was one of the most dramatic events of Nechayev's revolutionary life, through its words and the actions it inspired establishing Nechayev's importance for the Nihilist movement. The Catechism is divided into two sections; General Rules of the Organisation and Rules of Conduct of Revolutionaries, 22 and 26 paragraphs long respectively; abridged versions were published as excerpts in the anarchist periodicals Freiheit and The Alarm.
The most radical document of its age, the Catechism outlined the authors' revolutionary Jacobin program of organisation and discipline, a program that became the backbone of the radical movement in Russia. The revolutionary is portrayed in the Catechism as an amoral avenging angel, an expendable resource in the service of the revolution, committed to any crime or treachery necessary to effect the downfall of the prevailing order.
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3.5
“now this is a manifesto.
I had to read this a while ago for a Russian history class and was only just reminded of it while reading the communist manifesto. This is far more interesting and pithy to read, it's actually strangely enjoyable. It's also incredibly dark, and very scary to realize that some Russians genuinely believed and followed these ideals (so my rating might be in poor taste). But it's worth the read,it provides insight into Russian terrorism at its most extreme.”
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