Memoirs of a Revolutionist · Chapter
XII explained
Kropotkin describes the rise of nihilism among educated Russian youth after the abolition of serfdom, emphasizing its revolt against domestic despotism, conventional lies, and hypocrisy.
What happens
Kropotkin describes the rise of nihilism among educated Russian youth after the abolition of serfdom, emphasizing its revolt against domestic despotism, conventional lies, and hypocrisy. He distinguishes nihilism from terrorism, portrays its core values of absolute sincerity and rejection of authority except reason, and details the movement's impact on family life, gender relations, and the 'V naród!' (To the people) movement.
Themes in this chapter
Serfdom and Social Inequality
The chapter opens with the legacy of serfdom—habits of domestic slavery, despotism, and disregard for human individuality—that the nihilist movement rebelled against.
Intellectual Awakening and Education
Nihilism is portrayed as a philosophical movement emphasizing reason, sincerity, and self-education; youth formed circles to study and then went to the people to spread knowledge.
Revolutionary Idealism and Sacrifice
Young men and women gave up fortunes, lived frugally, and devoted themselves to the people's cause, embodying the ideal of personal sacrifice for social betterment.
The Role of the Masses in History
The movement's central aim was to 'go to the people,' live among peasants, and learn their ideals, highlighting the masses as the focus of revolutionary change.
Characters to notice
- Peter Kropotkin
Narrator and observer of the nihilist movement; reflects on his own experiences in Irkutsk and the youth's turn toward the people.
- Alexander II
Tsar during whose reign the revolutionary disturbances and nihilist movement emerged; his assassination is referenced as the tragic end of the period.
- Ivan Turgenev
Author of 'Fathers and Sons,' which coined the term 'nihilism'; his character Bazarov is critiqued as too harsh and insufficiently civic-minded.
- Chernyshévsky
Author of 'What Is to Be Done?'; his portrayal of nihilists was seen by youth as a better model than Turgenev's Bazarov.
- Nekrasov
Poet whose line 'It is bitter, the bread that has been made by slaves' is quoted to illustrate the youth's rejection of wealth from servile labor.
- Karakozov
Mentioned in the context of the indictment against him and his friends, who lived frugally and gave fortunes to cooperative associations.
- Alexander Kropotkin
Peter's brother, referenced as being besieged by Irkutsk girls seeking advice on reading and study.
Key passages
“Nihilism was the name that Turgenev gave it in his epoch-making novel, Fathers and Sons.”
Turgenev's novel 'Fathers and Sons' coined the term 'nihilism' to describe the movement.
Kropotkin credits Turgenev with naming the nihilist movement.
“To confuse nihilism with terrorism is as wrong as to confuse a philosophical movement like stoicism or positivism with a political movement such as, for example, republicanism.”
Conflating nihilism with terrorism is a category error, like confusing a philosophy with a political movement.
Kropotkin distinguishes nihilism as a broad philosophical stance from terrorism as a specific political tactic.
“A pair of boots is more important than all your Madonnas and all your refined talk about Shakespeare.”
Practical necessities outweigh aesthetic or cultural luxuries.
This nihilist slogan reflects the movement's rejection of art for art's sake in favor of material needs.
“Their watchword was, 'V naród!' (To the people; be the people.)”
The rallying cry of the youth was to go and live among the common people.
Kropotkin describes the central slogan of the populist movement.
