Personal circumstances that formed P. N. Tkachev’s views
Vladimir A. Isakov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor
Moscow City Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia, Isakov-va@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7804-990X
Abstract
Tkachev’s revolutionary doctrine was largely developed under the influence of various circumstances of the transitional era in Russian history, and, undoubtedly, under the influence of his personal life. Almost all the main components of Tkachev’s program were traced in his contacts, literature interests, intellectual products, and participation in the social movement. From youthful admiration for the power of popular uprising, he moved to the conclusion that the people were incapable of creative action and increasingly tended towards extremely radical forms of struggle in which the initiative would belong to the revolutionary minority. Tkachev was influenced by the most radical documents of the early 1860s — P. G. Zaichnevsky’s “Young Russia” and the proclamation “To the Younger Generation” by N. V. Shelgunov and M. L. Mikhailov. Personal contacts with the most radical figures (Olshevsky, Nechaev, the karakozovites) in his Russian period of life, and with the French Blanquists, with Kaspar Tursky in the emigrant period, significantly corrected his views. The spiritual isolation in which Tkachev found himself at the end of his life was also a factor in the transformation of his ideological approaches, as was his illness. Tkachev’s legacy was reflected in the Russian social democratic movement: constant reproaches to Lenin from opponents about the Blanquist background of his activities. The conspiratorial trend is clearly visible in the numerous attempts to overthrow the government in developing countries.
Keywords
Revolution, masses of the people, “Nabat” (“Alarm”), conspiracies, revolutionary conspiracy, revolutionary minority, coup.
For citation:
Isakov V. A. Personal circumstances that formed P. N. Tkachev’s views. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2025, no. 1 (53), pp. 123—142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2025.53.8.
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