Origins & Early Life

Sergei Gennadiyevich Nechaev (Russian: Сергей Геннадиевич Нечаев; 2 October [O.S. 20 September] 1847 – 3 December [O.S. 21 November] 1882) was a Russian communist, part of the Russian nihilist movement, known for his single-minded pursuit of revolution by any means necessary, including revolutionary terror. Nechaev fled Russia in 1869 after having been involved in the murder of a former comrade (Ivan Ivanov), who disagreed with some actions of Nechaevites.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Complicated relationships with fellow revolutionaries caused him to be expelled from the International Workingmen's Association. Arrested in Switzerland in 1872, he was extradited back to Russia, where he received a twenty-year sentence and died in prison. Nechaev was born in Ivanovo, then a small textile town, to poor parents—his father was a waiter and sign painter. His mother died when he was eight. His father remarried and had two more sons.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

They lived in a three-room house with their two sisters and grandparents. They were ex-serfs who had moved to Ivanovo. He had already developed an awareness of social inequality and a resentment of the local nobility in his youth. At the age of 10, he had learned...

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