Memoirs of a Revolutionist · Chapter
The Net Tightens explained
As arrests intensify in St.
What happens
As arrests intensify in St. Petersburg and the provinces, Kropotkin and his remaining comrades struggle to maintain their revolutionary network. With key members captured and settlements raided, they work feverishly to transfer their operations to new recruits. Kropotkin delays his own flight to deliver a crucial report to the Geographical Society, narrowly evading arrest. After being captured, he refuses to answer questions during his interrogation by the Third Section, protecting his associates.
Themes in this chapter
Prison and Persecution
The chapter details the relentless police surveillance, raids, and arrests that decimate Kropotkin's circle, culminating in his own imprisonment and interrogation by the Third Section.
Revolutionary Idealism and Sacrifice
Kropotkin and his comrades risk their freedom to maintain propaganda networks, with Kropotkin delaying his escape to fulfill a scientific duty, reflecting the personal sacrifices demanded by revolutionary commitment.
The Role of the Masses in History
The chapter emphasizes the importance of worker-based propaganda and the network of circles and settlements across Russia, highlighting the collective effort to mobilize the masses.
Characters to notice
- Peter Kropotkin
Narrates the chapter; delays flight to deliver a geological report, is arrested, and refuses to answer questions during interrogation.
- Sergei Kravchinsky
Active in propaganda among workers; forced to leave St. Petersburg due to police pursuit.
- Dmitri Kelnitz
Continues visiting workers despite danger; forced to flee St. Petersburg to avoid arrest.
- Sophie Perovskaya
Arrested in a police raid on a settlement in November 1873.
- Nikolai Tchaikovsky
Mentioned as being in the south during the crackdown; Kropotkin refuses to confirm knowing him during interrogation.
- Alexander II
Referenced as the Tsar under whose reign the Third Section operates with absolute power.
- Polakov
A zoologist friend of Kropotkin; uninvolved in politics but at risk of being searched due to a misaddressed letter.
Key passages
“I had the satisfaction of hearing our leading geologist, Barbot-de-Marny, say, 'Ice cap or not, we must acknowledge, gentlemen, that all we have hitherto said about the action of floating ice had no foundation whatever in actual exploration.'”
Kropotkin felt vindicated when a prominent geologist admitted that previous theories about floating ice were baseless, marking a scientific breakthrough.
Highlights Kropotkin's dual life as a scientist and revolutionary, and the moment of professional triumph amid personal danger.
“I told my cabman to stop. 'Perhaps,' I thought, 'he has been released from arrest,'”
Kropotkin, fleeing his apartment, stops his cab when he sees an arrested weaver signaling him, hoping the man has been freed.
Illustrates the constant uncertainty and risk of betrayal in the underground movement.
“The moment you ask me such a question, don't hesitate: write 'No.' And if you ask me whether I know my brother, or my sister, or my stepmother, write 'No.'”
Kropotkin tells his interrogators that he will answer 'No' to any question about any person, to protect them from police action.
Demonstrates Kropotkin's principled refusal to cooperate with the secret police, even at personal cost.
