229 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
229 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
THE REVOLUTIONARY CATECHISM
|
|
|
|
by Nechayev
|
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
The Duties of the Revolutionary toward Himself
|
|
|
|
1. The revolutionary is a doomed man. He has no personal interests, no
|
|
business affairs, no emotions, no attachments, no property, and no
|
|
name. Everything in him is wholly absorbed in the single thought
|
|
and the single passion for revolution.
|
|
|
|
2. The revolutionary knows that in the very depths of his being, not
|
|
only in words but also in deeds, he has broken all the bonds 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.
|
|
|
|
3. The revolutionary despises all doctrines and refuses to accept the
|
|
mundane sciences, leaving them for future generations. He knows
|
|
only one science: the science of destruction. For this reason, but
|
|
only for this reason, he will study mechanics, physics, chemistry,
|
|
and perhaps medicine. But all day and all night he studies the
|
|
vital science of human beings, their characteristics and
|
|
circumstances, and all the phenomena of the present social order.
|
|
The object is perpetually the same: the surest and quickest way of
|
|
destroying the whole filthy order.
|
|
|
|
4. The revolutionary despises public opinion. He despises and hates
|
|
the existing social morality in all its manifestations. For him,
|
|
morality is everything which contributes to the triumph of the
|
|
revolution. Immoral and criminal is everything that stands in its
|
|
way.
|
|
|
|
5. The revolutionary is a dedicated man, merciless toward the State and
|
|
toward the educated classes; and he can expect no mercy from them.
|
|
Between him and them there exists, declared or concealed, a
|
|
relentless and irreconcilable war to the death. He must accustom
|
|
himself to torture.
|
|
|
|
6. Tyrannical toward himself, he must be tyrannical toward others. All
|
|
the gentle and enervating sentiments of kinship, love, friendship,
|
|
gratitude, and even honor, must be suppressed in him and give place
|
|
to the cold and singleminded passion for revolution. For him, there
|
|
exists only one pleasure, on consolation, one reward, one
|
|
satisfaction -- the success of the revolution. Night and day he
|
|
must have but one thought, one aim -- merciless destruction.
|
|
Striving cold-bloodedly and indefatigably toward this end, he must
|
|
be prepared to destroy himself and to destroy with his own hands
|
|
everything that stands in the path of the revolution.
|
|
|
|
7. The nature of the true revolutionary excludes all sentimentality,
|
|
romanticism, infatuation, and exaltation. All private hatred and
|
|
revenge must also be excluded. Revolutionary passion, practiced at
|
|
every moment of the day until it becomes a habit, is to be employed
|
|
with cold calculation. At all times, and in all places, the
|
|
revolutionary must obey not his personal impulses, but only those
|
|
which serve the cause of the revolution.
|
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
The Relations of the Revolutionary toward his Comrades
|
|
|
|
8. The revolutionary can have no friendship or attachment, except for
|
|
those who have proved by their actions that they, like him, are
|
|
dedicated to revolution. The degree of friendship, devotion and
|
|
obligation toward such a comrade is determined solely by the degree
|
|
of his usefulness to the cause of total revolutioary destruction.
|
|
|
|
9. It is superfluous to speak of solidarity among revolutionaries. The
|
|
whole strength of revolutionary work lies in this. Comrades who
|
|
possess the same revolutionary passion and understanding should, as
|
|
much as possible, deliberate all important matters together and come
|
|
to unanimous conclusions. When the plan is finally decided upon,
|
|
then the revolutionary must rely solely on himself. In carrying out
|
|
acts of destruction, each one should act alone, never running to
|
|
another for advice and assistance, except when these are necessary
|
|
for the furtherance of the plan.
|
|
|
|
10. All revolutionaries should have under them second- or third-degree
|
|
revolutionaries -- i.e., comrades who are not completely initiated.
|
|
these should be regarded as part of the common revolutionary
|
|
capital placed at his disposal. This capital should, of course, be
|
|
spent as economically as possible in order to derive from it the
|
|
greatest possible profit. The real revolutionary should regard
|
|
himself as capital consecrated to the triumph of the revolution;
|
|
however, he may not personally and alone dispose of that capital
|
|
without the unanimous consent of the fully initiated comrades.
|
|
|
|
11. When a comrade is in danger and the question arises whether he
|
|
should be saved or not saved, the decision must not be arrived at
|
|
on the basis of sentiment, but solely in the interests of the
|
|
revolutionary cause. Therefore, it is necessary to weigh carefully
|
|
the usefulness of the comrade against the expenditure of
|
|
revolutionary forces necessary to save him, and the decision must
|
|
be made accordingly.
|
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
The Relations of the Revolutionary toward Society
|
|
|
|
12. The new member, having given proof of his loyalty not by words but
|
|
by deeds, can be received into the society only by the unanimous
|
|
agreement of all the members.
|
|
|
|
13. The revolutionary enters the world of the State, of the privileged
|
|
classes, of the so-called civilization, and he lives in this world
|
|
only for the purpose of bringing about its speedy and total
|
|
destruction. He is not a revolutionary if he has any sympathy for
|
|
this world. _He_should_not_hesitate_to_destroy_any_position_,
|
|
_any_place_, _or_any_man_in_this_world_. He must hate everyone and
|
|
everything in it with an equal hatred. All the worse for him if he
|
|
has any relations with parents, friends, or lovers; _he_is_no_
|
|
_longer_a_revolutionary_if_he_is_swayed_by_these_relationships_.
|
|
|
|
14. Aiming at implacable revolution, the revolutionary may and
|
|
frequently must live within society will pretending to be
|
|
completely different from what he really is, for he must penetrate
|
|
everywhere, into all the higher and middle-classes, into the houses
|
|
of commerce, the churches, and the palaces of the aristocracy, and
|
|
into the worlds of the bureaucracy and literature and the military,
|
|
and also into the Third Division and the Winter Palace of the Czar.
|
|
|
|
15. This filthy social order can be split up into several categories.
|
|
The first category comprises those who must be condemned to death
|
|
without delay. Comrades should compile a list of those to be
|
|
condemned according to the relative gravity of their crimes; and
|
|
the executions should be carried out according to the prepared
|
|
order.
|
|
|
|
16. When a list of those who are condemned is made, and the order of
|
|
execution is prepared, no private sense of outrage should be
|
|
considered, nor is it necessary to pay attention to the hatred
|
|
provoked by these people among the comrades or the people. Hatred
|
|
and the sense of outrage may even be useful insofar as they incite
|
|
the masses to revolt. It is necessary to be guided only by the
|
|
relative usefulness of these executions for the sake of revolution.
|
|
Above all, those who are especially inimical to the revolutionary
|
|
organization must be destroyed; their violent and sudden deaths
|
|
will produce the utmost panic in the government, depriving it of
|
|
its will to action by removing the cleverest and most energetic
|
|
supporters.
|
|
|
|
17. The second group comprises those who will be spared for the time
|
|
being in order that, by a series of monstrous acts, they may drive
|
|
the people into inevitable revolt.
|
|
|
|
18. The third category consists of a great many brutes in high
|
|
positions, distinguished neither by their cleverness nor their
|
|
energy, while enjoying riches, influence, power, and high positions
|
|
by virute of their rank. These must be exploited in every possible
|
|
way; they must be implicated and embroiled in our affairs, their
|
|
dirty secrets must be ferreted out, and they must be transformed
|
|
into slaves. Their power, influence, and connections, their wealth
|
|
and their energy, will form an inexhaustable treasure and a precious
|
|
help in all our undertakings.
|
|
|
|
19. The fourth categoy comprises ambitious office-holders and liberals
|
|
of various shades of opinion. The revolutionary must pretend to
|
|
collaborate with them, blindly following them, while at the same
|
|
time, prying out their secrets until they are completely in his
|
|
power. They must be so compromised that there is no way out for
|
|
them, and then they can be used to create disorder in the State.
|
|
|
|
20. The fifth category consists of those doctrinaires, conspirators,
|
|
and revolutionists who cut a great figure on paper or in their
|
|
cliques. They must be constantly driven on to make compromising
|
|
declarations: as a result, the majority of them will be destroyed,
|
|
while a minority will become genuine revolutionaries.
|
|
|
|
21. The sixth category is especially important: women. They can be
|
|
divided into three main groups. First, those frivilous,
|
|
thoughtless, and vapid women, whom we shall use as we use the third
|
|
and fourth category of men. Second, women who are ardent, capable,
|
|
and devoted, but whom do not belong to us because they have not yet
|
|
achieved a passionless and austere revolutionary understanding;
|
|
these must be used like the men of the fifth category. Finally,
|
|
there are the women who are completely on our side -- i.e., those
|
|
who are wholly dedicated and who have accepted our program in its
|
|
entirety. We should regard these women as the most valuable or our
|
|
treasures; without their help, we would never succeed.
|
|
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
|
|
The Attitude of the Society toward the People
|
|
|
|
22. The Society has no aim other than the complete liberation and
|
|
happiness of the masses -- i.e., of the people who live by manual
|
|
labor. Convinced that their emancipation and the achievement of
|
|
this happiness can only come about as a result of an all-destroying
|
|
popular revolt, the Society will use all its resources and energy
|
|
toward increasing and intensfying the evils and miseries of the
|
|
people until at last their patience is exhausted and they are
|
|
driven to a general uprising.
|
|
|
|
23. By a revolution, the Society does not mean an orderly revolt
|
|
according to the classic western model -- a revolt which always
|
|
stops short of attacking the rights of property and the traditional
|
|
social systems of so-called civilization and morality. Until now,
|
|
such a revolution has always limited itself to the overthrow of one
|
|
political form in order to replace it by another, thereby
|
|
attempting to bring about a so-called revolutionary state. The
|
|
only form of revolution beneficial to the people is one which
|
|
destroys the entire State to the roots and exterminated all the
|
|
state traditions, institutions, and classes in Russia.
|
|
|
|
24. With this end in view, the Society therefore refuses to impose any
|
|
new organization from above. Any future organization will
|
|
doubtless work its way through the movement and life of the people;
|
|
but this is a matter for future generations to decide. Our task is
|
|
terrible, total, universal, and merciless destruction.
|
|
|
|
25. Therefore, in drawing closer to the people, we must above all make
|
|
common cause with those elements of the masses which, since the
|
|
foundation of the state of Muscovy, have never ceased to protest,
|
|
not only in words but in deeds, against everything directly or
|
|
indirectly connected with the state: against the nobility, the
|
|
bureaucracy, the clergy, the traders, and the parasitic kulaks. We
|
|
must unite with the adventurous tribes of brigands, who are the
|
|
only genuine revolutionaries in Russia.
|
|
|
|
26. To weld the people into one single unconquerable and
|
|
all-destructive force -- this is our aim, our conspiracy, and our
|
|
task.
|
|
|