User:Nas197/Beznachalie

Beznachalie was a St. Petersburg-based anarcho-communist group that operated between 1904 and 1906. It propelled late-imperialist anarchist movements through its production and distribution of literature.

Organization
Beznachalie 's founder and leader was Nikolai "Bidbei" Romanov. Born to a wealthy family in the Caucasus region, Bidbei was a student and Social Democrat until his imprisonment in Kresty. Later, he relocated to Paris, where he became an anarcho-communist. Beznachalie operated out of Paris until December of 1905, when it merged with the similar but less radical group, Anarkhisty-Obshchinniki in St. Petersburg. By this time, there were twelve members, including eleven students and one female doctor. The group produced literature for other anarchist terrorist groups, including instructions for bomb assembly. Beznachalie emphasized individual terrorist acts, and most lone-wolf terrorists between 1905 and 1906 claimed association with the group.

Dmitrii Bogoliubov, an anarchist who became a spy for the Okhrana after an arrest, exposed Beznachalie in January of 1906. Only one member escaped prosecution, and by the summer of 1906, the group was effectively disbanded. Its influence outlasted its operations, as Beznachalie 's activities inspired Tambov's 1908 peasant uprising.

Ideology and Influences
Beznachalie was an anarcho-communist group, and, similar to Chernoe Znamia, a proponent of motiveless terror as a means of initiating class struggle. The group's slogan was "Death to the bourgeoise!" and it advocated violence against anyone who owned property. Unlike other groups, including Chernoe Znamia, Beznachalie condemned employment and union membership as unprogressive, encouraging theft from the wealthy instead. Additionally, Beznachalie condemned religion and the family as bourgeoisie. Bidbei was personally inspired by earlier revolutionaries, Sergei Nechaev and Mikhail Bakunin, who galvanized his support for the lumpenproletariat (although the group was mostly constituted of students). Max Stirner, Benjamin Tucker, and Friedrich Nietzsche also influenced Beznachalie's individualist emphasis. Despite the group's composition and activities distributing literature, it expressed staunchly anti-intellectualist positions.