Thou Shalt Kill: Revolutionary Terrorism in Russia, 1894-1917

by Anna Geifman

Anna Geifman examines the explosion of terrorist activity that took place in the Russian empire from the years just prior to the turn of the century through 1917, a period when over 17,000 people were killed or wounded by revolutionary extremists. On the basis of new research, she argues that a multitude of assassination attempts, bombings, ideologically motivated robberies, and incidents of armed assault, kidnapping, extortion, and blackmail for party purposes played a primary role in the revolution of 1905 and early twentieth-century Russian political history in general.

Genres: History, Terrorism, Russia, Russian Revolution, Politics

388 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1993

Reviews

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of obviously thorough research...but Geifman does fall flat when it comes to women of the revolutionary terrorist movement. Their main spotlight comes when she discusses mental instability, falling back on a tired "hysterical woman" trope. This aspect was deeply disappointing, but otherwise the book was an engaging and enlightening read.

[Wild Goose · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you Anna for this wonderful book, I cannot wait to give my in-class presentation on it

[Terry Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Introduction, eight chapters, an epilogue, bibliography, index for 376 pages. The notes section is extensive - 100 pages of mostly archive primary sources and documents. the notes section in itself is a valuable resource. The Bibliography is parsed in the same categories - primary sources, memoirs, published documents and secondary sources; it too is a valuable resource. The book is a tour de force of revolutionary terrorism in Russia, 1894 to 1917. Published in 1993, the narrative and extensive amount of research that was conducted on the subject still makes this book relevant today. In fact, if one did not search for the copyright and publisher information, the reader would mistake this work as recent contemporary work. Chapter One begins with terrorism in the Empire - background, extent and impact. IT proceeds to explore and analyze the parties, players, anarchists, the criminal element, juveniles and interparty cooperation.
This book in and of itself is a masterclass on the elements of insurgency, insurrection, terror and the failure of government. The Government also unwittingly contributed to the problem when the supplemented government relief efforts with volunteers - NGO's - who promptly used the opportunity to agitate and foment unrest.

Here is an Example that has been parsed from several pages of the book.

" Cooperation between segments of the population and the extremists was a fact. Liberal circles demonstrated sympathy for the terrorists/radicals, while simultaneously, moderates also began to side against the government. Liberal society came to behold the radicals and terrorists as “examples of self-sacrifice and heroism and persons of civic virtue,” who were motivated by a deep humanism.
According to the memoirs of one women, Vera Figner, an active committee member, “society saw no escape from the existing condition: one group sympathized with the violence…while others regarded it as necessary evil – but even they applauded the valour and skill of the champion… Outsiders became reconciled to terrorism because of the disinterestedness of its motives: it redeemed itself through renunciation of material benefits through the fact that the revolutionist was not satisfied with personal wellbeing …it redeemed itself by prison, exile, penal servitude and death.’”
Some adherents of more conservative principles became frustrated by cautious policies and became resistant to joining government efforts, preferring to remain aloof of the politics and found consolation in berating both sides. And despite their disdain for revolutionary dogma, moderates and conservatives ceased to accept the official view that all radicals and terrorists were common criminals or half-wits. In the words of William Brice Lincoln, “Suicide, murder, sexual perversion, opium, alcohol – all were part of Russia’s Silver and Gilded Age.” This was period of intense cultural and intellectual turmoil and decadence when many of the era’s highly individualistic and turbulent minds sought, in their artistic ecstasy, “poetry in death.” In the courses for this search – a new ideology of radicalism and terror was embraced as a suitable formula for guiding and shaping their outlook and future.

I highly recommend this book if you can get it - you might try any number of used book sales

[Aonarán · Rating 4 out of 5]

One enjoys this book for all the wrong reasons...