The "Catechism of the Revolutionary" Nechaev is the charter of a revolutionary organization, which was drawn up in 1869. At that time, Sergey Nechaev lived abroad. This did not stop him from issuing a whole series of revolutionary proclamations, among which was the famous Catechism.
general information
The “catechism of the revolutionary” S. G. Nechaev can be called collective creativity. Indeed, the author was influenced by the thoughts of M. Bakunin, P. Tkachev and G. Enisherlov. It is these people who own the basic revolutionary ideas.
In the summer of 1869, the "Catechism of the Revolutionary" Nechaev was printed at the Chernetsky printing house (Geneva). This set of rules consisted of four paragraphs:
- The attitude of the revolutionary to himself.
- Attitude to comrades in the revolution.
- Attitude to society.
- Attitude to the people as a whole.
The author considered the Catechism as an introduction to the charter of the People’s Reprisal. For the first time in Russian history, a program of full-scale terror was written that would entail countless casualties and a “bright future”.
Definition of authorship
S. G. Nechaev was not going to publish the “Catechism of the Revolutionary,” moreover, he did not allow him to read it to even his closest friends and like-minded people. After this charter was published in the “Government Gazette” (and this happened during the trials of the Necaevans), disputes arose over who the author really was. Vladimir Danilovich Spasovich, a Russian lawyer and part-time lawyer who spoke on the side of the Nechaevites, denied Nechaev’s authorship. Assumptions began to be put forward that the theoretician of anarchism, Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bakunin, wrote the Catechism . It was said that Nechaev simply rewrote it in the "seminary language."
Later, the revolutionary M. Sazhin, after the arrest of Nechaev, dismantled his archive and found a folder with the inscription "Catechism", the text in which was written by Bakunin. Therefore, researchers were divided in opinion, because there were no reliable documentary sources indicating authorship until the beginning of the 60s of the last century.
The historian N. Perumova proved that Nechaev borrowed some ideas from the "Catechism of the Revolutionary" from G. Enisherlov. The text of the charter itself was unequivocally written by Nechaev, which was greatly influenced by the works of Bakunin and Tkachev. Also, the ideologists of the secret community “Organization” and the secret circle “Hell”, a novel by N. Chernyshevsky “What to do?” Had a significant influence on him. Nechaev was especially attracted by the idea of a “new man” Rakhmetov.
The birth of disobedience
Nothing can appear from scratch. All revolutionary ideas accumulated and increased like a snowball, but only Nechaev was able to erase the line between revolution and everyday crime. The main position in the "Catechism of the Revolutionary" is the replacement of universal morality with the concept of permissiveness, which was the basic foundation of revolutionary morality.
Someone else's thoughts
It’s difficult to comment on the work of Nechaev, the text speaks for itself. The "Catechism of the Revolutionary" Sergei Nechaev included three provisions that he borrowed from Bakunin:
- It is necessary to destroy the state system.
- Destroy all the "enemies of the people."
- Do not reject the "robbery world", but ask him for help.
Mind and morality
The author himself did not possess theoretical knowledge about the structure of society and politics, Nechaev simply picked up the thoughts of other people. Words that seemed attractive to him, he without hesitation inserted into his letters, programs, and catecheses. The selection criterion was quite simple: statements that talk about the early collapse of the autocracy were received with great enthusiasm.
The future organizer of the “People's Reprisal” was not particularly concerned about morality; he was more attracted to the idea of destruction. To organize a revolution at all costs, to destroy the state system in which he had no place and which he did not need. Sergei Nechaev took every opportunity that could lead to the crushing of the monarchy, even if he gave only a crack in its massive foundation.
Letters from Europe
Soon, Nechaev’s friends began to notice oddities behind him: he began to send letters from abroad to different people who the 3rd Division was looking askance at. These messages were impudent, provocative and called for the overthrow of power. Nechaev wanted reprisals to be applied against the addressees. This would create dissatisfaction with the authorities, and a coup would take place in the country. So in Russia for the first time the basic principle of a true revolutionary was realized - "the worse, the better."
Sergey Nechaev perfectly understood that his invention was a win-win option. If the police intercepted the letters, then she could find out about the existence of a large revolutionary center in Europe. Due to contact with him, the recipients could go to jail, and this would cause more public discontent. If the letters slip through, someone will certainly read them and pass them on to others, so the number of "seeing" will increase. The future of Russia depends on these “clear-sighted” ones.
"People's Reprisal"
First, Nechaev sent letters to friends and acquaintances, later he began to find addresses in directories, he wrote to strangers or sent messages to state and private institutions, in particular gymnasiums and seminaries. This newsletter can be considered a preliminary step in creating the “Catechism of the Revolutionary”.
Already in the spring of 1869, the first printed propaganda publications appeared, and Nechaev began to send them instead of handwritten letters. At the end of summer, brochures of “People's Reprisal” were sent to Russia, which began with a set of rules for a true revolutionary.
General impression of the proclamations
Nechaev tried to win over prominent scientific and cultural figures. His contemporaries said that he had an amazing ability to subjugate others, instill fear and respect in them.
Sergei Nechaev also wanted to win over the brilliant writer A.I. Herzen. However, Alexander Ivanovich had a good intuition, so he immediately gave a negative moral assessment to the “Catechism of the Revolutionary”. To the newly-minted revolutionary, the writer was imbued with a squeamish dislike. From his works blew something dark and bloody. All the proclamations, including the Catechism of the Revolutionary, Nechaev were designed for a poorly educated reader. They consisted of the thoughts of not the best philosophers in their professional field, distorted compilation of works and demagogic chatter.
Nechaev wanted to converge with Herzen, the most authoritative figure in the Russian revolutionary movement. However, he did not succeed. Sergei Nechaev was too enthralled with the thought that he was a true revolutionary, a people's envoy. He sincerely believed in his inventions about communities, committees and revolutionaries that were not there. After all, the instructions from the "Catechism" of Nechaev are unlikely to be supported by a sane person.
"The attitude of the revolutionary to himself"
So, what should be a revolutionary according to Nechaev’s “Catechism”? The author believed that every revolutionary is a doomed person. He should not have his own interests, feelings, deeds or any kind of affection. A revolutionary must live only by the thought of revolution. He must break all ties with the orders, norms and laws adopted in society, and destroy them.
Nechaev did not want his followers to be smarter than him, so he urged revolutionaries to abandon science in any form. It should be dealt with by future generations. Revolutionaries only need to know how to destroy. Nechaev wrote that revolutionaries despise public opinion and never expect mercy for themselves, because they are doomed.
If we translate the first chapter of the Catechism into the language of morality, then the author cynically and immorally devalues the human life and the person himself, who should become "cannon fodder", a weak-willed doll that will ruin everything in its path in the name of the "holy revolution". But only these actions can lead to anarchy, and you certainly cannot call it a bright future.
“The attitude of the revolutionary towards his comrades in the revolution”
Further in the analysis of Nechayev’s Catechism of the Revolutionary, one should pay attention not to how revolutionaries should relate to each other. Only the same rebel can be another, and the degree of friendly relations is determined by how useful a person is in practice. The revolutionaries must act together and discuss everything unanimously.
If a person is not yet fully committed to the revolution, but is on the right path, then it must be treated as capital (for example, as a weapon or information) and used wisely. If a comrade is in trouble, then you need to save him only if it will benefit the revolution.
Simply put, revolutionaries have no friends. Even if together they destroy everything in their path, each of them is a tool. A cog of a large and merciless system that can always be replaced, and attachment to it is pointless. In the war, fighting side by side, people did not hide behind cowardly comrades, but the Catechism says that for the good of the revolution you can, even need to sacrifice someone.
"The attitude of the revolutionary towards society"
Revolutionaries should accept in their community only those who have made themselves known in practice. Moreover, the decision to accept a new member must be taken collectively. The revolutionary should not be sorry for anything in this world, because during the revolution everything will be destroyed and destroyed. To prepare the rebellion, he must gather as much information as possible. Therefore, he is obliged to live in society according to his rules.
Nechaev also said that revolutionary society should be divided into several categories. And in the first category there should be people sentenced to death. The revolutionaries must make a list of such people, guided only by how much use will be of their death, and not by personal accounts.
In the second category there should be “temporary” people, that is, those who can provoke people into rebellion with their brutal actions. But the third category should include those who have money, connections and influence. If possible, they should be exploited and used.
Nechaev classifies statesmen into the fourth category, because they can stir up the state with their hands. The fifth category belongs to the “paper” revolutionaries, they are bold only on paper, but in reality they need to be pulled and pushed. In a separate category, the author defines women who are divided into three categories: those who can be used, those who are close to the ideas of the revolution, and those who participate and actively help in the coup.
"The relationship of the partnership to the people"
A revolutionary partnership only fights for the happiness of the people. But at the same time, every activist must understand that happiness is possible only if there is a popular uprising, which should create a revolutionary state. In the newly created state there should not be division into classes, old traditions and orders.
Nechaev called for rapprochement with the people, protest not only in words, unite with the robber world and become an all-devastating force.
The kingdom of non-Chaev socialism
For some reason, the author did not think about the consequences of such a revolution. He only briefly mentions that future generations will be building a new state with new orders, activists should only destroy everything. But if you destroy everything and offer nothing in return, the country will turn into a real stronghold of anarchy, where everyone will only care about their own good.
Actually, it is not so important what position was included in the "Catechism of the Revolutionary" Nechaev. The main thing here is to understand that in the hands of the police were people who, although they were civic activists, had nothing to do with any revolution. Nechaev’s letters were intercepted by the political police, re-read and sent to the addressee. If, after receiving the letter, he did not go to the law enforcement authorities with a denunciation, he was arrested as a possible underground revolutionary.
The writing of the Catechism did not lead to anything good. Not one human destiny was broken due to Nechaev’s letters. In Russia, he was considered a dangerous state criminal who creates and distributes immoral texts, initiates the creation of propaganda campaigns and lures educated people to his side, prompting them to write malicious, immoral and stupid creations.