Crime & Terrorism

Tony Rocchi22.06.2024

Of all the topics in the history of the Russian Empire, one of the most unknown topics is the history of political terrorism in the Russian Empire between 1866-1911. It seems that the history of terrorism in pre-1917 Russia is likely to stay a Great Unknown for a long time. I first encountered terrorism in […]

Yuri Chekalin07.04.2024

The case dates back to not-so-recent times, the 70s of the last century. In the Russian outback, in one of the small provincial town worked a city prosecutor with the talantes conman. The man is not yet old and, on the contrary, is still very promising in age. He did not shine with particular successes […]

Tony Rocchi27.02.2024

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Far-right political terrorism occupies a virtually minimal place in the history of political terrorism in the Russian Empire between 1901-1911. The overwhelming majority of the 17,000 people killed or wounded in terrorist attacks were victims of left-wing terrorist groups. However, terrorism and other acts of violence committed by the Black Hundreds [черносотенцы] — members of […]

Tony Rocchi24.12.2023

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The conspiratorial activity of the People’s Will [Народная Воля] gave birth to the conspiratorial activity of the loyalist Sacred Brotherhood [Святая Дружина]. Just as the narodovol’tsy [members of the People’s Will] saw themselves engaged in single combat with the autocracy, the druzhinniki [дружинники, members of the Sacred Brotherhood] saw themselves as engaged in single combat […]

Tony Rocchi17.12.2023

The People’s Will was a political secret society and a revolutionary terrorist conspiracy. Revolutionary Mystification and Deceit Political parties were illegal in Russia until the Revolution of 1905-1907 so the narodovol’tsy had no other choice but to form a secret society. In many ways, the People’s Will, especially its Executive Committee, was the culmination of […]

Tony Rocchi15.12.2023

The terrorists of the People’s Will [Народная Воля] became legends in their own time. Many of their admirers included Russian and foreign writers. Heroes in World Literature Among the foreign writers who admired the narodovol’tsy [members of the People’s Will] were Emile Zola, Victor Hugo, Guy Maupassant, Jules Verne, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, and […]

Tony Rocchi13.12.2023

The People’s Will [Народная Воля] occupies a special and even honorable place in the history of Russian, European, and world terrorism. A Legendary Terrorist Organization Even historians who usually condemn terrorism often make an exception for the People’s Will. For example, American specialist Walter Laqueur wrote <<Sofiya Perovskaya and Vera Figner are symbols of one […]

Tony Rocchi11.12.2023

Political terrorism in the Russian Empire foreshadowed many trends in European terrorism especially in the late 20th to early 21st centuries. However, Russian terrorism differed sharply from many tendencies in European terrorism particularly after 1918 right up to the present. Many of these differences reflect the conditions in which terrorism emerged during different historical periods. […]

Tony Rocchi10.12.2023

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Many trends in terrorism in the Russian Empire foreshadowed trends in European terrorism in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Already during Europe’s <<Era of Dynamite>> from 1870-1914, terrorism in Russia between 1866-1911 was clearly different from terrorism in European countries. Russia and the European <<Era of Dynamite>> The massiveness of terrorism in Russia […]

Tony Rocchi08.12.2023

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Political terrorism was born in Europe in the 19th century and the Russian Empire was the birthplace of mass terrorism. Europe, Russia, and Political Terrorism However, the history of political terrorism in the Russian Empire is still badly integrated into the history of Europe just as it is poorly integrated into the history of world […]

Crime & Terrorism

The Great Unknown — Political Terrorism in the Russian Empire

The Most Incredible Bribes

Revolution from the Right: Russia’s Black Hundreds

One Conspiracy Creates Another Conspiracy

A Super Revolutionary Conspiracy

The Appeal of the People’s Will

The People’s Will — Myths and Realities

Differences Between Russian and European Terrorism

Russian Terrorism Foreshadows Terrorism in Europe

Terrorism, Revolutions, and Police Violence in Russia and Europe

Don’t get your hopes up on Trump

“Deplorables” in the US

Two-Faced Yakovlev: Part Two

Two-Faced Yakovlev: Part One