Terrorism Reference Primary Sources | Sergei Nechayev

Catechism of a Revolutionary

Published in 1869

"The revolutionary knows that in the very depths of his being, not only in words but also in deeds, he has broken all the bounds which tie him to the social order and the civilized world with all its laws, moralities and customs and with all its generally accepted conventions. He is their implacable enemy, and if he continues to live with them it is only in order to destroy them more speedily."

Sergei Nechayev (1847–1882) was a fanatical Russian revolutionary who in many respects fit the portrait of a "typical" terrorist of the nineteenth century. He is best known for his pamphlet titled Catechism of a Revolutionary (a catechism is a summary of a religious teachings) published in 1869.

Sergei Genadievich Nechayev (pronounced nee-CHI-ev) was the son of a Russian serf, a farm worker who did not own land. But he was intelligent and...