Jim Devine wrote:
>
> >From Catechism of a Revolutionary, Sergei G. Nachaev (1847-1882)<
>
> who was this character? what were his politics? anarchist? what resulted
> from his political activity?
>
Nechaev was a member of the Narodnya Volya or People's Will Party(or
Populists) that existed in Marx's time and who Marx corresponded with.
Nechaev was a member of the extremist bomb-throwing faction. He called
himself an anarchist and became friends with Bakunin, Bakunin signed
"The Revolutionary Catechism" but there is controversy over whether he
authored any of it. Nechaev was the model for the revolutionary-nihilist
character in Dostoevesky's *The Possessed*. Recent historical woerk
shows that Nechaev may have been in the pay of the Tsar's secret police.
There are a couple of old books on Nechaev. One called *The Unspeakable
Nechaev* features a very sinister photo of him -a very sinister
character- on the front.
Sam Pawlett
