Mark Natanson
Encyclopedia
Mark Andreyevich Natanson ' onMouseout='HidePop("52027")' href="/topics/Pseudonym">alias
- Бобров, or Bobrov) (December 25, 1850 (N.S.
January 6, 1851), Švenčionys
- July 29, 1919, Berne) was a Russia
n revolutionary
and one of the founders of the Circle of Tchaikovsky
, Land and Liberty
, and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
. In 1917 he was a leader of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
, supporting the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution
.
He was the uncle of Alexander Berkman
.
Natanson studied in St Petersburg at the Medical and Surgical Academy (1868-71) and at the Institute of Agriculture (1871). During this time he became involved in radical student politics. He opposed the 'nihilistic' tendency of Sergei Nechaev. Natanson participated in founding the vand the populist (Narodnik) organisation 'Land and Liberty' and helped organise some of the first socialist groups among the small industrial working class in Western Russia. He also took part in demonstrations, notably the Kazan demonstration in St Petersburg in 1876. After 'Land and Liberty' split, Natanson joined 'The People's Will' (Narodnaya Volya). That group favoured agitation among urban workers and intellectuals over propaganda among the peasants (a tactic adopted by the other offshoot of 'Land and Liberty', the 'Black Repartition'
group). Narodnaya Volya also endorsed political terrorism as a tactic and in 1881 assassinated Tsar Aleksandr II
.
Natanson was not involved in any terrorist act, but, in 1869 he was imprisoned in the notorious Peter and Paul Fortress
(mainly used as a political prison), and from 1879 to 1889, he was banished to Siberia.
After his release he returned to European Russia and became active in Minsk, where in 1893 he founded the party 'The People's Right' ('Narodnaya Prava'). Like 'The People's Will' its focus was urban rather than rural, but unlike 'The People's Will', it did not engage in terrorism. In 1894 Natanson was arrested again and banished to eastern Siberia. In 1904, after his release, Natanson went into exile in Switzerland and there became involved in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party (PSR), which united a variety of populist and revolutionary organisations.
The tactical position adopted by the PSR represented a compromise between the rural agitation favoured by South Russian and Ukrainian populists, the factory organisation favoured by 'The People's Right' and the terrorist tactic embraced by the remnants of 'The People's Will' and some of the revolutionary groups of Moscow and St Petersburg. During the abortive Russian revolution of 1905-1907, Natanson returned to Russia and served on the central committee of the PSR. After the revolution was put down, Natanson returned to exile in Switzerland.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, the PSR, like most other European socialist parties, split into those who supported a war of 'national defence' ('Defencists') and those who opposed the war ('Internationalists'). Natanson sided with the 'Internationalists
' and attended the international socialist peace conferences such as the Zimmerwald Conference
and one at Kienthal in Switzerland, signing the conference's manifestoes on behalf of the SR Internationalists.
When the February Revolution
occurred in Russia in 1917, Natanson returned to Russia and became one of the most prominent leaders of the left wing of the PSR, which became increasingly disenchanted with the Provisional Government and with Alexander Kerensky
. The Left SRs eventually broke away from the PSR and formed a separate party. Natanson and the Left SRs supported the Bolshevik Revolution in October of 1917 and briefly entered the Soviet government. However, they rejected the Soviet-German peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk
(later superseded by the Versailles treaty), which imposed onerous terms on Russia in exchange for a separate peace with Russia.
The Left SRs exited the Soviet government in protest, and some now took up arms against the Bolsheviks. Natanson opposed this course, fearing that a defeat of the Soviet government would spell the end of the revolution and usher in a counter-revolution. He founded the party of Revolutionary Communists, which supported the Bolsheviks and eventually merged with the Communist Party of the USSR. Natanson was a member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. However, Natanson's opposition to the anti-Bolshevik uprising of the Left SRs did not imply whole-hearted acceptance of the Bolsheviks' policies. In particular, he objected to Lenin's decision to ban all other political parties in the Soviet Union. In 1919 he once again returned to Switzerland and died there.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
- Бобров, or Bobrov) (December 25, 1850 (N.S.
Old Style and New Style dates
Old Style and New Style are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year has been adjusted to start on 1 January even though documents written at the time use a different start of year ; or to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian...
January 6, 1851), Švenčionys
Švencionys
Švenčionys is a city located north of Vilnius in Lithuania. It is the capital of the Švenčionys district municipality. As of 2005, it had population of 5,658 of which about one-third is part of the Polish minority in Lithuania.- Name :...
- July 29, 1919, Berne) was a 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...
n 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:...
and one of the founders of the Circle of Tchaikovsky
Circle of Tchaikovsky
The Circle of Tchaikovsky, also known as Tchaikovtsy, Chaikovtsy, or the Grand Propaganda Society was a Russian literary society for self-education and a revolutionary organization of the Narodniks in the early 1870s.- Background and origin :The intelligentsia of mid-nineteenth century Tsarist...
, Land and Liberty
Land and Liberty (Russia)
Land and Liberty was a Russian clandestine revolutionary organization of Narodniki in the 1870s...
, and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
Socialist-Revolutionary Party
thumb|right|200px|Socialist-Revolutionary election poster, 1917. The caption in red reads "партия соц-рев" , short for Party of the Socialist Revolutionaries...
. In 1917 he was a leader of the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
Left Socialist-Revolutionaries
In 1917, Russia the Socialist-Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Provisional Government, established after the February Revolution, and those who supported the Bolsheviks who favoured a communist insurrection....
, supporting the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
.
He was the uncle of Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman
Alexander Berkman was an anarchist known for his political activism and writing. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century....
.
Natanson studied in St Petersburg at the Medical and Surgical Academy (1868-71) and at the Institute of Agriculture (1871). During this time he became involved in radical student politics. He opposed the 'nihilistic' tendency of Sergei Nechaev. Natanson participated in founding the vand the populist (Narodnik) organisation 'Land and Liberty' and helped organise some of the first socialist groups among the small industrial working class in Western Russia. He also took part in demonstrations, notably the Kazan demonstration in St Petersburg in 1876. After 'Land and Liberty' split, Natanson joined 'The People's Will' (Narodnaya Volya). That group favoured agitation among urban workers and intellectuals over propaganda among the peasants (a tactic adopted by the other offshoot of 'Land and Liberty', the 'Black Repartition'
Black Repartition
Black Repartition , Party of Socialists-Federalists, a revolutionary populist organization in Russia in the early 1880s....
group). Narodnaya Volya also endorsed political terrorism as a tactic and in 1881 assassinated Tsar Aleksandr II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
.
Natanson was not involved in any terrorist act, but, in 1869 he was imprisoned in the notorious Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
(mainly used as a political prison), and from 1879 to 1889, he was banished to Siberia.
After his release he returned to European Russia and became active in Minsk, where in 1893 he founded the party 'The People's Right' ('Narodnaya Prava'). Like 'The People's Will' its focus was urban rather than rural, but unlike 'The People's Will', it did not engage in terrorism. In 1894 Natanson was arrested again and banished to eastern Siberia. In 1904, after his release, Natanson went into exile in Switzerland and there became involved in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party (PSR), which united a variety of populist and revolutionary organisations.
The tactical position adopted by the PSR represented a compromise between the rural agitation favoured by South Russian and Ukrainian populists, the factory organisation favoured by 'The People's Right' and the terrorist tactic embraced by the remnants of 'The People's Will' and some of the revolutionary groups of Moscow and St Petersburg. During the abortive Russian revolution of 1905-1907, Natanson returned to Russia and served on the central committee of the PSR. After the revolution was put down, Natanson returned to exile in Switzerland.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, the PSR, like most other European socialist parties, split into those who supported a war of 'national defence' ('Defencists') and those who opposed the war ('Internationalists'). Natanson sided with the 'Internationalists
Internationalist/Defencist Schism
The terms 'Internationalist' and 'Defencist' were commonly used to describe the broad opposing camps in the international socialist movement during and shortly after the First World War. Prior to 1914, anti-militarism had been an article of faith among most European socialist parties...
' and attended the international socialist peace conferences such as the Zimmerwald Conference
Zimmerwald Conference
The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...
and one at Kienthal in Switzerland, signing the conference's manifestoes on behalf of the SR Internationalists.
When the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
occurred in Russia in 1917, Natanson returned to Russia and became one of the most prominent leaders of the left wing of the PSR, which became increasingly disenchanted with the Provisional Government and with Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
. The Left SRs eventually broke away from the PSR and formed a separate party. Natanson and the Left SRs supported the Bolshevik Revolution in October of 1917 and briefly entered the Soviet government. However, they rejected the Soviet-German peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, mediated by South African Andrik Fuller, at Brest-Litovsk between Russia and the Central Powers, headed by Germany, marking Russia's exit from World War I.While the treaty was practically obsolete before the end of the year,...
(later superseded by the Versailles treaty), which imposed onerous terms on Russia in exchange for a separate peace with Russia.
The Left SRs exited the Soviet government in protest, and some now took up arms against the Bolsheviks. Natanson opposed this course, fearing that a defeat of the Soviet government would spell the end of the revolution and usher in a counter-revolution. He founded the party of Revolutionary Communists, which supported the Bolsheviks and eventually merged with the Communist Party of the USSR. Natanson was a member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. However, Natanson's opposition to the anti-Bolshevik uprising of the Left SRs did not imply whole-hearted acceptance of the Bolsheviks' policies. In particular, he objected to Lenin's decision to ban all other political parties in the Soviet Union. In 1919 he once again returned to Switzerland and died there.