Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 37
until he finally, in 1857, lost his life in a failed revolt. To him is ascribed the apparition of
the notion of ―Propaganda of Action.‖[11] The Italian extremist clearly articulated that the
people have to be shaken up, and simultaneously fear among the enemies to the revolution
has to be spread.
Such ideas were particularly attractive to the revolutionary forces in Tsarist Russia. In the
spirit of Pisacane, Michael Bakunin became another influential theoretician of terrorism in
the nineteenth century. He was active not only in Russia, but also in Germany during the
revolution of 1848-49 in France and in Switzerland. In his Principles of Revolution,
published in 1869, Bakunin made it clear that he and his friends would never accept any
other method than destruction. The final goal is revolution because evil can only be
terminated through violence and Russian soil will only be cleansed by fire and sword.
Furthermore, Bakunin wrote and published a Revolutionary Catechism in which he gave
rules of conduct for terrorists. He coined the term, ―anonymous terrorist,‖ referring to one
who was supposed to radically break with society and deny all its laws, customs, and
conventions. He advised the terrorists of his time to dispose of the most dangerous enemies
(all those who were conspicuous because of their intelligence or particular talents) at the
beginning. This was to terrify both the government and the people alike. Literally futuristic
was his advice to cooperate closely with criminals and criminal organizations.[12]
Revolutionary Terrorism in Tsarist Russia
Prior to World War I, it was the Russian terrorists who dominated the scene and were also
the most successful. The first organization to put the theories of Pisacane and Bakunin into
practice was the Russian ―Naradnaja Wolja‖ (People‘s Will, sometimes also translated as
People‘s Freedom) founded in 1878. This consisted of a small group of Russian
constitutionalists who stood in direct opposition to the Tsar‘s reign. In the face of the
―Apathy and Estrangement of the Russian masses‖ the members of the group attempted—
by way of absolutely courageous deeds—to draw the public‘s attention to the goals and
ideals of the organization. However, in stark contrast to the terror organizations of the late
twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century that distinguish themselves by
bloodshed and carnage on a large, indiscriminate scale, the Naradnaja Wolja took a
particularly discriminating stance on the violence it applied. The Russian terrorists of those
days transformed the ―propaganda of violence‖ into assaults that were exclusively directed
against individuals who were deemed to be ―embodiments of the autocratic regime of
repression.‖[13]
Nationalist Terrorism on the Balkans and in Ireland
Terrorism was also believed by its early proponents to be able to determine the course of
history. After the Austrians had taken power in the region, a group of Bosnian-Serb
intellectuals, including university students and even high school pupils (later becoming
known as the Mlada Bosnia or Young Bosnians), formed against the Hapsburg reign. One of
their members, Gavrilo Princip, eventually triggered, through his assassination of the
successor to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, the chain of
events that led to the outbreak of the First World War and the ensuing totally new political
order in Europe. Behind the Young Bosnians stood the secret society ―Narodna Odbrana‖
(Defense of the People), which was originally founded in 1908, to foster the Serbian cultural
and national activities. However, it soon assumed a more pronounced political and
subversive orientation and gained notoriety for terrorist activities against the Hapsburg
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The Narodna Odbrana was able to recruit new members,
especially among the young Bosnians and Herzegovinans, and it was not long until the
terrorism of this group achieved ever higher levels of brutality. In 1911, the even more
radical group ―Crna Ruka‖ (Black Hand) split off from the Narodna Odbrana. Although there
were originally close ties among the Serb military leadership, the Crna Ruka and the Young
until he finally, in 1857, lost his life in a failed revolt. To him is ascribed the apparition of
the notion of ―Propaganda of Action.‖[11] The Italian extremist clearly articulated that the
people have to be shaken up, and simultaneously fear among the enemies to the revolution
has to be spread.
Such ideas were particularly attractive to the revolutionary forces in Tsarist Russia. In the
spirit of Pisacane, Michael Bakunin became another influential theoretician of terrorism in
the nineteenth century. He was active not only in Russia, but also in Germany during the
revolution of 1848-49 in France and in Switzerland. In his Principles of Revolution,
published in 1869, Bakunin made it clear that he and his friends would never accept any
other method than destruction. The final goal is revolution because evil can only be
terminated through violence and Russian soil will only be cleansed by fire and sword.
Furthermore, Bakunin wrote and published a Revolutionary Catechism in which he gave
rules of conduct for terrorists. He coined the term, ―anonymous terrorist,‖ referring to one
who was supposed to radically break with society and deny all its laws, customs, and
conventions. He advised the terrorists of his time to dispose of the most dangerous enemies
(all those who were conspicuous because of their intelligence or particular talents) at the
beginning. This was to terrify both the government and the people alike. Literally futuristic
was his advice to cooperate closely with criminals and criminal organizations.[12]
Revolutionary Terrorism in Tsarist Russia
Prior to World War I, it was the Russian terrorists who dominated the scene and were also
the most successful. The first organization to put the theories of Pisacane and Bakunin into
practice was the Russian ―Naradnaja Wolja‖ (People‘s Will, sometimes also translated as
People‘s Freedom) founded in 1878. This consisted of a small group of Russian
constitutionalists who stood in direct opposition to the Tsar‘s reign. In the face of the
―Apathy and Estrangement of the Russian masses‖ the members of the group attempted—
by way of absolutely courageous deeds—to draw the public‘s attention to the goals and
ideals of the organization. However, in stark contrast to the terror organizations of the late
twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century that distinguish themselves by
bloodshed and carnage on a large, indiscriminate scale, the Naradnaja Wolja took a
particularly discriminating stance on the violence it applied. The Russian terrorists of those
days transformed the ―propaganda of violence‖ into assaults that were exclusively directed
against individuals who were deemed to be ―embodiments of the autocratic regime of
repression.‖[13]
Nationalist Terrorism on the Balkans and in Ireland
Terrorism was also believed by its early proponents to be able to determine the course of
history. After the Austrians had taken power in the region, a group of Bosnian-Serb
intellectuals, including university students and even high school pupils (later becoming
known as the Mlada Bosnia or Young Bosnians), formed against the Hapsburg reign. One of
their members, Gavrilo Princip, eventually triggered, through his assassination of the
successor to the Austrian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on June 28, 1914, the chain of
events that led to the outbreak of the First World War and the ensuing totally new political
order in Europe. Behind the Young Bosnians stood the secret society ―Narodna Odbrana‖
(Defense of the People), which was originally founded in 1908, to foster the Serbian cultural
and national activities. However, it soon assumed a more pronounced political and
subversive orientation and gained notoriety for terrorist activities against the Hapsburg
Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The Narodna Odbrana was able to recruit new members,
especially among the young Bosnians and Herzegovinans, and it was not long until the
terrorism of this group achieved ever higher levels of brutality. In 1911, the even more
radical group ―Crna Ruka‖ (Black Hand) split off from the Narodna Odbrana. Although there
were originally close ties among the Serb military leadership, the Crna Ruka and the Young
