Land and Liberty (Russia)
Encyclopedia
Land and Liberty was a Russian clandestine
revolutionary
organization of Narodniki (middle- or upper-class revolutionaries attempting to spread socialism in rural areas) in the 1870s. In Russian
, it is Земля и воля, transliterated Zemlya i volya or Zemlia i volia, and translated usually as Land and Liberty or Land and Freedom.
Land and Liberty received its name in the late 1878 with the creation of the printing shop with the same name. Its former names were Severnaya revolyutsionno-narodnicheskaya gruppa (Северная революционно-народническая группа, or The Northern Revolutionary Group of Narodniki) and Obschestvo narodnikov (Общество народников, or The Society of Narodniki).
in 1876 , was preceded by the analysis of the Call to the people campaign (Хождение в народ, or Khozhdeniye v narod) of 1873-1875. As a result, the members of Land and Liberty defined the basics of the political platform, which would be called narodnicheskaya (народническая, or "close to the people", populist
). They admitted a possibility of a special, non-capitalist
way of development of Russia
with peasantry as its basis. The members of Land and Liberty considered necessary to adapt the purposes and slogans of the movement to independent revolutionary aspirations that had already existed among the peasant
s, as they believed. These requirements, generalized in the slogan "Land and Liberty!", were designed to allow for the transition of all the lands "into the hands of the rural working strata", even distribution of the land, "full communal self-management" and division of the Russian empire
into parts "in accordance with the desires of the locals". Land and Liberty stood for the creation of permanent "revolutionary settlements" in the countryside for the purpose of preparing a people’s revolution
.
The members of Land and Liberty saw peasantry as the principal revolutionary force, as opposed to the working class
, which would have to play a part of the "second fiddle". Proceeding from the inevitability of a "forced coup d'état
", the revolutionaries considered agitation
and organization of revolts, demonstrations
and strike
s to be very important. Land and Liberty represented a "rebellious" current of the revolutionary movement of the 1870s. Vladimir Lenin
said that Land and Liberty’s merit was its desire to "...attract all of the discontent and direct the organization towards decisive struggle against autocracy
". Discipline, mutual comradely control, centralism and conspiracy
became this organization’s principles.
, Alexander Mikhailov, Aleksei Oboleshev, Georgi Plekhanov
, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
, Dmitry Lizogub, Valerian Osinsky, Osip Aptekman
, Nikolai Rusanov
and others. Later, Sergey Kravchinsky, Dmitry Klements, Nikolai Morozov
, Sophia Perovskaya, Lev Tikhomirov
, Mikhail Frolenko (all of them - Chaikovtsi) would later join Land and Liberty The club of Vera Figner
shared the views of and cooperated with Land and Liberty The organization had close ties with the revolutionaries in Kiev
, Kharkov and Odessa
.
, Nizhny Novgorod
, Samara
, Astrakhan
, Tambov
, Pskov
, Voronezh
, the Don region and others. They also attempted to spread their revolutionary activities in the Northern Caucasus
and the Urals. Land and Liberty organized clandestine publishing
and distribution of the revolutionary literature
, conducted propaganda
among workers and took part in several strikes in Petersburg in 1878-1879. It also influenced the development of the student movement by organizing or supporting demonstrations in Petersburg and other cities, including the so-called Kazan demonstration of 1876, where they would openly admit the organization’s existence for the first time.
The Program of Land and Liberty also envisioned a course of actions, aimed at "disorganization of the state", in its members opinion. In particular, it allowed for physical elimination of "the most harmful or prominent members of the government". The most famous terrorist act
of Land and Liberty was the assassination
of the Chief of the Gendarme
s Nikolai Mezentsov in 1878. However, Land and Liberty didn’t yet consider terror as means of political struggle against the existing regime
, perceiving it as revolutionary self-defense
and their revenge
towards the government.
Land and Liberty’s disappointment with the revolutionary activity in the countryside, intensification of the governmental repression
s and political discontent during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 and ripening of the revolutionary situation favored the conception and development of the new sentiments in the organization itself. By spring of 1879, the faction of political terrorists was formed in Land and Liberty
Disagreements between the supporters of the former strategy of inciting the countryside called derevenschiki, or "villagers" (Georgi Plekhanov
, Mikhail Popov
, Osip Aptekman etc.) and defenders of transition towards political struggle by means of systematic terrorist methods called politicians (Aleksandr Mikhailov, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky, Nikolai Morozov, Lev Tikhomirov etc.) led to the convocation
of the Voronezh Congress of Land and Liberty in June 1879, where the two rival groups would reach a short-term compromise.
In August 1879, however, Land and Liberty broke up in two independent organizations: Narodnaya Volya and Chernyi Peredel.
Clandestine operation
A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental...
revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
organization of Narodniki (middle- or upper-class revolutionaries attempting to spread socialism in rural areas) in the 1870s. In Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, it is Земля и воля, transliterated Zemlya i volya or Zemlia i volia, and translated usually as Land and Liberty or Land and Freedom.
Land and Liberty received its name in the late 1878 with the creation of the printing shop with the same name. Its former names were Severnaya revolyutsionno-narodnicheskaya gruppa (Северная революционно-народническая группа, or The Northern Revolutionary Group of Narodniki) and Obschestvo narodnikov (Общество народников, or The Society of Narodniki).
Program
The formation of Land and Liberty, in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in 1876 , was preceded by the analysis of the Call to the people campaign (Хождение в народ, or Khozhdeniye v narod) of 1873-1875. As a result, the members of Land and Liberty defined the basics of the political platform, which would be called narodnicheskaya (народническая, or "close to the people", populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
). They admitted a possibility of a special, non-capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
way of development of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
with peasantry as its basis. The members of Land and Liberty considered necessary to adapt the purposes and slogans of the movement to independent revolutionary aspirations that had already existed among the peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s, as they believed. These requirements, generalized in the slogan "Land and Liberty!", were designed to allow for the transition of all the lands "into the hands of the rural working strata", even distribution of the land, "full communal self-management" and division of the Russian empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
into parts "in accordance with the desires of the locals". Land and Liberty stood for the creation of permanent "revolutionary settlements" in the countryside for the purpose of preparing a people’s revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
.
The members of Land and Liberty saw peasantry as the principal revolutionary force, as opposed to the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
, which would have to play a part of the "second fiddle". Proceeding from the inevitability of a "forced coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
", the revolutionaries considered agitation
Agitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
and organization of revolts, demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
and strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
s to be very important. Land and Liberty represented a "rebellious" current of the revolutionary movement of the 1870s. Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
said that Land and Liberty’s merit was its desire to "...attract all of the discontent and direct the organization towards decisive struggle against autocracy
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
". Discipline, mutual comradely control, centralism and conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
became this organization’s principles.
Members
Land and Liberty’s most prominent members from the times of its inception were Mark NatansonMark Natanson
Mark Andreyevich Natanson was a Russian revolutionary and one of the founders of the Circle of Tchaikovsky, Land and Liberty, and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party...
, Alexander Mikhailov, Aleksei Oboleshev, Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Kvyatkovsky was a Russian revolutionary and member of the Executive Committee of Narodnaya Volya....
, Dmitry Lizogub, Valerian Osinsky, Osip Aptekman
Osip Aptekman
Osip Vasiliyevich Aptekman was a Russian revolutionary, member of the Land and Liberty, and one of the founders of the Black Repartition....
, Nikolai Rusanov
Nikolai Rusanov
Nikolay Sergeyevich Rusanov , 1859, Oryol — July 28, 1939, Berne), also known under the pseudonyms of K. Tarasov and N. Kudrin, was a Russian revolutionary who connected the revolutionary populist movement of the 1870s with the revolutionary parties of the early twentieth century,...
and others. Later, Sergey Kravchinsky, Dmitry Klements, Nikolai Morozov
Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov
Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov was a known Russian revolutionary who spent about 25 years in prison before turning his attention to various fields of science.- Revolutionary activities :...
, Sophia Perovskaya, Lev Tikhomirov
Lev Tikhomirov
Lev Alexandrovich Tikhomirov , originally a Russian revolutionary and one of the members of the Executive Committee of the Narodnaya Volya, following his disenchantment with violent revolution became one of the leading conservative thinkers in Russia...
, Mikhail Frolenko (all of them - Chaikovtsi) would later join Land and Liberty The club of Vera Figner
Vera Figner
Vera Nikolayevna Figner was a Russian revolutionary and narodnik born in Kazan, Russia.-Biography:...
shared the views of and cooperated with Land and Liberty The organization had close ties with the revolutionaries in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Kharkov and Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
.
History
The revolutionaries chose to "settle" in the provinces of SaratovSaratov
-Modern Saratov:The Saratov region is highly industrialized, due in part to the rich in natural and industrial resources of the area. The region is also one of the more important and largest cultural and scientific centres in Russia...
, Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
, Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
, Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
, Tambov
Tambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
, Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
, Voronezh
Voronezh
Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...
, the Don region and others. They also attempted to spread their revolutionary activities in the Northern Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
and the Urals. Land and Liberty organized clandestine publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
and distribution of the revolutionary literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, conducted propaganda
Agitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
among workers and took part in several strikes in Petersburg in 1878-1879. It also influenced the development of the student movement by organizing or supporting demonstrations in Petersburg and other cities, including the so-called Kazan demonstration of 1876, where they would openly admit the organization’s existence for the first time.
The Program of Land and Liberty also envisioned a course of actions, aimed at "disorganization of the state", in its members opinion. In particular, it allowed for physical elimination of "the most harmful or prominent members of the government". The most famous terrorist act
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
of Land and Liberty was the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of the Chief of the Gendarme
Special Corps of Gendarmes
The Special Corps of Gendarmes was the uniformed security police of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security....
s Nikolai Mezentsov in 1878. However, Land and Liberty didn’t yet consider terror as means of political struggle against the existing regime
Regime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
, perceiving it as revolutionary self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
and their revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
towards the government.
Land and Liberty’s disappointment with the revolutionary activity in the countryside, intensification of the governmental repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
s and political discontent during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 and ripening of the revolutionary situation favored the conception and development of the new sentiments in the organization itself. By spring of 1879, the faction of political terrorists was formed in Land and Liberty
Disagreements between the supporters of the former strategy of inciting the countryside called derevenschiki, or "villagers" (Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Plekhanov
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was one of the first Russians to identify himself as "Marxist." Facing political persecution, Plekhanov emigrated to Switzerland in 1880, where...
, Mikhail Popov
Mikhail Popov
Mikhail Popov may refer to:*Mikhail Abramovich Popov , Russian businessman and politician, first mayor of Perm*Mikhail Vasilyevich Popov, Russian writer and poet*Mikhail Vladimirovich Popov , Russian footballer...
, Osip Aptekman etc.) and defenders of transition towards political struggle by means of systematic terrorist methods called politicians (Aleksandr Mikhailov, Aleksandr Kvyatkovsky, Nikolai Morozov, Lev Tikhomirov etc.) led to the convocation
Convocation
A Convocation is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose.- University use :....
of the Voronezh Congress of Land and Liberty in June 1879, where the two rival groups would reach a short-term compromise.
In August 1879, however, Land and Liberty broke up in two independent organizations: Narodnaya Volya and Chernyi Peredel.