British Opinion and Russian Terrorism in the 1880s

Abstract

The sinister figure of the Russian revolutionary was well established in the British mind by the early 1870s, whilst the terrorist campaign pursued by the People’s Will during the period 1878—1881 entrenched the stereotype still further. At the same time, however, the long-standing Russophobic motifs in British political culture helped to foster a degree of sympathy for the Russian terrorists as fighters against tsarist oppression. The first part of this article examines the reports carried in British newspapers during these years, arguing that although they generally condemned ‘terrorism’ in Russia, there was also a widespread sense that the upsurge in violence was at least in part a consequence of the Russian government’s refusal to embrace reform. Whilst the periodic eruption of ‘Fenian’ bombs created something of a moral panic about terrorism, most commentators believed that the use of violence to bring about change in an autocratic political system was qualitatively different from resorting to terror in a constitutional system where other avenues for non-violent change were available. The second part of the article examines the reception of the books and articles of Sergei Kravchinskii (Stepniak), a former member of People’s Will, who arrived in Britain in 1884. Stepniak made a concerted attempt to persuade his readership of the iniquities of the tsarist regime. He also argued that the use of terror was a natural response to the existence of despotic rule. Stepniak was generally successful at presenting himself as a representative of a national liberation movement, committed to promoting the cause of freedom, establishing in the process a good deal of support for his views amongst a section of British public opinion.