HIST 1500Y Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Maria Spiridonova, Okhrana
Document Summary
Several thousand young people, mostly students, decided to leave school and to go live among the people to get to know them, to serve the people, and to lead the people to revolution. It was important to be with the people, not just on their side. Dressed as peasants and went into the countryside. Prince peter kropotkin describes this contact as some of the happiest days of his life. Experience was shocking living and working conditions were hard, hard to move around without arousing suspicion. Kropotkin knew the bible very well, used the bible to talk to the peasants. Movement was too short to break the faith that the radicals had in the people. 6 weeks after tsar had been assassinated, a whole series of violent actions broke out. Jews who lived here, came here feeing oppression from western europe. Jewish were strong because of their religion and occupations, long tradition of self- government.
