A Herzen Reader

Count Sergey G. Stroganov was one of three members of a commission set up in i86i to look at university regulations. Count Efim V. Putyatin (i803-i883), admiral and diplomat, was for a few months in i86i the minister of education.

In i723, hetman P. L. Polubotok was suspected of wanting to separate Ukraine from Russia; he was lured to St. Petersburg and imprisoned, dying the following year. In i83i there was an uprising at military settlements in Staraya Russa; the soldiers were promised negotiations with Nicholas I, but instead were harshly punished.

Herzen: "Mikhailov, Pertsov and the officer Kostomarov were arrested in connection with the 'Great Russia' affair and the secret typography. The Times says that Kraevsky, Count Kushelev-Bezborodko, and Gromeka staged some sort of protest against the illegal detention of Mikhailov; we would very much like to know the details of this matter." Mikhail I. Mikhailov (i829-i865), revolutionary, poet, journalist, was arrested in i86i, based on a denunciation by Vsevolod D. Kostomarov (whose brother Nikolay and the journalist Erast Pertsov were also arrested) and sentenced to hard labor for distributing a proclamation written by him and N. V. Shelgunov called "To the Younger Generation."

♦ 40 *

The Bell, No. П3, November 22, i86i. In October, Herzen received a letter from Bakunin after he had escaped from Siberia and had gotten as far as San Francisco. This informa­tion was passed on to Proudhon and to acquaintances in Russia. Bakunin arrived in London on December 27, i86i. Herzen wrote the first biography of the anarchist in i85i for a French audience, and dedicated his book On the Development of Revolutionary Ideas in Russia to Bakunin. While this is a very brief notice, its importance would expand in the readers' minds and in discussion—the empire's borders were obviously not secure, and, based on Bakunin's previous exploits, it was a good bet that he would continue his revolutionary activities in the future. In the meantime, the Echo de Bruxelles published a rumor that Herzen had made a secret trip to Russia, where he had been arrested and sent to Siberia. Herzen had actually put off traveling outside of England, due to threats reaching him that he would be kidnapped or killed (Let 3:250-53, 266, 27i).

Bakunin Is Free [1861]

MIKHAIL ALEXANDROVICH BAKUNIN is in San Francisco. HE IS FREE! Bakunin left Siberia by way of Japan and is on his way to England. We are spreading news of this with delight to all Bakunin's friends.

Notes

Source: "Bakunin svoboden," Kolokol, l. П3, November 22, i86i; i5:i94, 408-9.

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The Bell, No. ii3, November i, i86i. Herzen compiled information on the treatment of students which included letters from readers of The Bell and other information that came his way, framed by his own commentary. The Bell continued to publish materials the editors received on this topic in subsequent issues. Herzen's premonition about attacks on the tsar was later realized, beginning with Karakozov's attempt in i866 and ending with the successful assassination of Alexander II in i88i, long after Herzen's own death. The image of Alexander II as a fairy-tale prince at a crossroads—offered three possibilities rather than the more familiar two choices in the West—has become a favorite of Russian political analysts (See Billington and Parthe, Search for a New Rus­sian National Identity, 27-30, 92-3). In the original tale, Ilya Muromets sets out on a quest, only to find at the top of a mountain a sign pointing in three directions: the first way promised food for Ilya but not for his horse, taking the second meant that the horse would eat but not its rider, and the third warned that the champion would die. Strangely enough, Ilya "followed the third road, although the inscription said that on this road he would be slain; for he had confidence in himself" (Afanas'ev, Russian Fairy Tales, 571). According to Herzen, the new tsar is trying to travel all three at once, a path that is, liter­ally, not viable. This motif recurs in the final issue of The Bell, in an excerpt from Past and Thoughts, but by this point, the knight at the crossroads is Herzen himself (Doc. 100).

Concerning the Assaults on Students [1861]