''Chernoe Znamia'' (or Chornoe Znamia) (russian: Чёрное знамя, en, The Black Banner), known as the ''Chernoznamentsy'', was a Russian anarchist communist organisation. It emerged in 1903 as a federation of cadres. It took its name, "The Black Banner", from the black flag, the use of which as a symbol of anarchism in Russia, according to ''

An Anarchist FAQ An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian a ...

'', coincided with its founding.

Composition

The largest collection of anarchist terrorists in Imperial Russia, ''Chernoe Znamia'' attracted its strongest following in the western and southern provinces at the frontier of the Empire, including nearly all anarchists in Białystok. Their ranks included mostly students, factory workers and artisans, though there were also peasants, unemployed labourers, drifters, and self-professed Nietzschean supermen. Ethnically,

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

predominated, and many members were of Ukrainian, Polish and

Great Russia Great Russia, sometimes Great Rus' (russian: Великая Русь, , , , , ), is a name formerly applied to the territories of "Russia proper", the land that formed the core of Muscovy and later Russia. This was the land to which the et ...

n nationality. The typical age of the ''Chernoznamentsy'' was nineteen or twenty, and some of the most active adherents were as young as fifteen years old.

Tactics and ideology

With a history marked, in the words of historian

Paul Avrich Paul Avrich (August 4, 1931 – February 16, 2006) was a historian of the 19th and early 20th century anarchist movement in Russia and the United States. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for his entire career, from 19 ...

, by "reckless fanaticism and uninterrupted violence", the ''Chernoznamensty'' were the first anarchist group with a deliberate policy of terror against the established order. They saw merit in every act of

propaganda by the deed Propaganda of the deed (or propaganda by the deed, from the French ) is specific political direct action meant to be exemplary to others and serve as a catalyst for revolution. It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by pr ...

, no matter how intemperate and senseless it appeared to the public, as evoking the lust of the underclass for vengeance against their tormentors. Along with the equally fanatical '' Beznachalie'' ("Without Authority"), ''Chernoe Znamia'' was the most conspicuous anarchist communist organisation in Russia.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Chernoe Znamia
at the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia {{Anarchism 1903 establishments in the Russian Empire Anarchist organizations in Russia Communist organizations in Russia Defunct anarchist militant groups Defunct communist militant groups Jewish anarchism Organizations established in 1903 Organizations of the Russian Revolution Organizations with year of disestablishment missing Political movements Political organizations based in the Russian Empire Terrorism in the Russian Empire Defunct anarchist organizations in Europe

Composition

Tactics and ideology

See also

References

Bibliography

External links