The Narodniks were members of a movement of the Russian Empire intelligentsia in the 1860s and 1870s, some of whom became involved in revolutionary agitation against tsarism . Their ideology, known as Narodism , Narodnism or Narodnichestvo , was a form of agrarian socialism , though it is often misunderstood as populism .
49-466: Voynich may refer to: Ethel Voynich (1864–1960), Irish novelist and musician, wife of Wilfrid Wilfrid Voynich (1865–1930), Polish revolutionary, discoverer of the Voynich manuscript, husband of Ethel Voynich manuscript , a mysterious undeciphered document from the 15th century, named after its re-discoverer, Wilfrid Voynich Topics referred to by
98-630: A biography of Ethel Voynich, and a relative of Ethel's on the Hinton side. The evidence demonstrates that a liaison of some sort took place between Reilly and her in Florence, 1895. She is most famous for her first novel The Gadfly , first published in 1897 in the United States (June) and Britain (September), about the struggles of an international revolutionary in Italy who was loosely based on
147-660: A commune that they were trying to revolutionize ("settled" propaganda), and others practiced propagandizing by using pamphlets and literature to maximize the number of people that the message reached ("flying" propaganda). Disunity was prevalent even though Narodniks only traveled in three directions: either towards Volga , Dnieper , or Don . The Narodniki, who often took up work as nurses, scribes, schoolteachers, or participated in construction and harvest, struggled in unfamiliar terrain and poverty. All Narodniks resented foreign intervention into Russia, wanted Russian communes to control their own economic policies. Narodniks believed that
196-616: A firm belief that capitalism had no future in Russia or in any agrarian country . Narodniki established semi-underground circles (кружки, kruzhki ) such as the Chaikovsky Circle and Land and Liberty , with the goals of self-education and external propaganda work. They shared the common general aims of destroying the Russian monarchy and of distributing land fairly among the peasantry. The Narodniks generally believed that it
245-468: A means of exerting pressure on the government for reform, as the spark that would ignite a vast peasant uprising, and as the inevitable response to the regime's use of violence against the revolutionaries". The attempt to get the peasantry to overthrow the Tsar proved unsuccessful, due to the peasantry's idolisation of the latter as someone "on their side". Narodism therefore developed the practice of terrorism:
294-609: A model for Voynich's hero. Reilly, in turn, was used by Ian Fleming as a model for James Bond , the most famous fictional spy of the Cold War . The 1955 film of the novel, by the Soviet director Aleksandr Fajntsimmer is noted for the fact that composer Dmitri Shostakovich wrote the score (see The Gadfly Suite ). Along with some other excerpts, the Romance movement has since become very popular. Shostakovich's Gadfly theme
343-475: A political level, because the peasantry were generally horrified by the murder, and the government had many Narodnaya Volya leaders hanged, leaving the group unorganized and ineffective. However, these events did not mark the end of the movement, and the later Socialist-Revolutionaries , Popular Socialists , and Trudoviks all pursued similar ideas and tactics to the Narodniks. The philosophy and actions of
392-812: A rural Russian—a lack of material goods, poor healthcare, etc.—left little time for discussions of socialism or egoism . Feminism in the Narodnik movement was also hard for the peasantry to accept. Pre-Marxist revolutionaries believed in an unusually strong equality of sex , and educated noblewomen played major roles in radical movements in the latter decades of the nineteenth century. The Narodniks promulgated Chernyshevskyan ideas of chaste cohabitation—that men and women should live together with no sexual interactions—and gender equality. These concepts were extremely odd to most peasants, and they did not generally react well to them. Furthermore, Narodniks often lived in communes where non-married men and women slept and lived in
441-511: A writer for Crank , an early-20th-century periodical . Her father died six months after she was born. Her mother returned to her native England with her daughters, and was able to live off a small government pension until she was appointed librarian at Queen's College, London. When she was eight, Ethel contracted erysipelas , a disease associated with poor sanitation. Her mother decided to send her to live in Lancashire with her brother, who
490-482: Is best known for her novel The Gadfly , which became hugely popular in her lifetime, especially in the Soviet Union . Ethel Lilian Boole was born on 11 May 1864, at Lichfield Cottage, Blackrock , Ballintemple, Cork , the youngest daughter of English parents, mathematician George Boole (father of Boolean logic ), and mathematician and educationalist Mary Everest , who was the niece of George Everest and
539-575: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ethel Voynich Ethel Lilian Voynich ( née Boole ; 11 May 1864 – 27 July 1960) was an Irish-born novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork , but grew up in Lancashire , England. Voynich was a significant figure, not only on the late Victorian literary scene, but also in Russian émigré circles. She
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#1732772117886588-433: Is responsible for the third reason that the "going to the people movement" failed; the peasants did not receive the intellectuals well. The reception that the intelligentsia received in the communes was so poor that it destroyed their idealized image of the peasant that was so common prior to 1874. The Narodniks saw peasants as a unified body; they thought that all peasants dressed poorly, so intellectuals dressed as poorly as
637-578: Is said to have bared his soul and revealed to her the story of his espionage activities. After their brief affair, Voynich published The Gadfly , whose central character Arthur Burton was based on Reilly. In 2004, writer Andrew Cook suggested that Reilly may have been reporting on Voynich and her political activities to William Melville of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch . In 2016, new evidence surfaced from archived communication between Anne Fremantle , who attempted
686-588: The Bessarabian -born Constantin Stere (who was a member of Narodnaya Volya in his youth). The latter helped found various groups, included one formed around the literary magazine Viața Românească , which he published along with Garabet Ibrăileanu and Paul Bujor. Stere and the Poporanist (from popor , Romanian for "people") movement eventually rejected revolution altogether. Nevertheless, he shared
735-665: The Hochschule für Musik in Berlin, which she attended between 1882 and 1885. During this period, she became increasingly attracted to revolutionary politics. Back in London she learned Russian from Sergei Kravchinski , known as Stepniak who encouraged her to go to Russia. From 1887 to 1889, she worked as a governess in St. Petersburg, where she stayed with Kravchinski's sister-in-law, Preskovia Karauloff. Through her, she became associated with
784-608: The Tsar 's government in the nineteenth century. Unlike the French Revolution or the Revolutions of 1848 , the "to the people" movement was political activism primarily by the Russian intelligentsia. These individuals were generally anti-capitalist, and they believed that they could facilitate both an economic and a political revolution amongst rural Russians by "going to" and educating the peasant classes. The concept of
833-551: The Narodnik movement in 1874 failed because they approached the peasants as though the peasants were intellectuals like themselves. Radicals in the latter part of the 1870s would learn that their concept of the narod was flawed, and intellectuals would have to instead make themselves into peasants to have success in the movement and begin a revolution against the government of Alexander II. Nikolay Chernyshevsky 's "anthropological principle" held that all humans, regardless of class, have many intrinsic similarities, and intellectuals saw in
882-399: The Narodniks therefore helped prepare the way for the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 . The Popular Resistance Association is an example of a modern-day grouping claiming the heritage of the Narodniks and the democratic socialist parties inspired by them. The Narodnik movement was a populist initiative to engage the rural classes of Russia in a political debate that would overthrow
931-428: The Narodniks, the more radical the Narodniks became. They grew increasingly selective in their membership, and their Zemlya i Volya (Land and Freedom) members would eventually evolve to form more terroristic organizations: Narodnaya Volya (The People's Will) and Chornyperedel (Black Repartition). These groups sought to begin a revolution through violence, and when members of Narodnaya Volya killed Tsar Alexander in 1881,
980-670: The Pius X School of Liturgical Music in Manhattan. While there she composed a number of cantatas and other works that were performed at the college, including Babylon , Jerusalem , Epitaph in Ballad Form and The Submerged City . She also researched the history of music, compiling detailed commentaries on music of various eras. Most of her music remains unpublished and is held at the Library of Congress. Recent evaluation in 2005 of
1029-492: The Russian intelligentsia to "bestir itself from the mental lethargy into which, in contrast to the sensitive and lively years of the seventies, it had fallen and formulate a scientific theory of Russian economic development". One response to this repression was the formation of Russia's first organized revolutionary party, Narodnaya Volya ("People's Will"), in June 1879. It favoured secret society -led terrorism , justified "as
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#17327721178861078-617: The Russian Empire, now Vilnius , Lithuania. Its dramatic story serves as an allegory for the struggle for liberty in Russia. Not only did it circulate widely among socialists in Russia, it appealed enormously to people of progressive ideas elsewhere with soaring popularity in Britain towards the end of the First World War. Sidney Reilly , the famous British “Ace of Spies” is said to have either modelled himself on or served as
1127-498: The Tsar and to the Russian Orthodox Church ; not understanding this, the Narodnik rhetoric blamed the Tsar and centralized religion for the peasants' lack of land and material resources. Another example of the cultural disconnect between the intelligentsia and the peasants in the "to the people" movement was the Narodniks propagandizing through pamphlets when virtually all poor Russians were illiterate. In essence,
1176-464: The Tsar had impoverished the peasants, but Narodniks should have understood how highly the peasants regarded the Tsar. By failing to present a disciplined message and avoid directly attacking the Tsar, the Narodniki was often simply ignored. It was not until the formation of Narodnaya Volya in 1879 that young revolutionaries saw the need for organization and a disciplined message. This lack of unity
1225-642: The ashes scattered over Central Park in New York City . According to the British journalist Robin Bruce Lockhart , Sidney Reilly – a Russian-born operative employed by the émigré intelligence network of Scotland Yard 's Special Branch – met Ethel Voynich in London in 1895. Lockhart, whose father, R.H. Bruce Lockhart knew Reilly, claims that Reilly and Voynich had a sexual liaison and voyaged to Italy together. During their romance Reilly
1274-471: The cantata Babylon by an eminent English composer was not very favourable. 'The general impression is of amateurism and gaucheness'. A minor planet called 2032 Ethel that was discovered in 1970 by Soviet astronomer Tamara Mikhailovna Smirnova is named after her. Narodniks The Going to the People campaigns were the central impetus of the Narodnik movement. The Narodniks were in many ways
1323-865: The figure of Giuseppe Mazzini . This novel was very popular in the Soviet Union and was the top bestseller and compulsory reading there, where it was seen as ideologically useful; for similar reasons, the novel has been popular in the People's Republic of China as well. By the time of Voynich's death The Gadfly had sold an estimated 2,500,000 copies in the Soviet Union and had been made into two Russian movies, first in 1928 in Soviet Georgia ( Krazana ) and then again in 1955. Historian Mark Mazower describes The Gadfly as ‘a radical fin de siècle English novel’ translated into Yiddish by his grandfather, Max Mazower, being published in 1907 in Vilna, then part of
1372-424: The image of the peasant to further their own political objectives. Narodniks saw the peasant commune as a Russia that had not been tainted by western influence; Alexander Herzen wrote that the narod was "the official Russia; the real Russia." Hampered by a biased understanding of the peasantry, the Narodniks struggled, mostly unsuccessfully, to relate to the peasantry. Rural Russians were typically highly devoted to
1421-646: The intellectual and political forebears and, in notable cases, direct participants of the Russian Revolution —in particular of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party , which went on to greatly influence Russian history in the early 20th century. Narodnichestvo as a philosophy was influenced by the works of Alexander Herzen (1812–1870) and Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (1828–1889), whose convictions were refined by Pyotr Lavrov (1823–1900) and Nikolay Mikhaylovsky (1842–1904). In
1470-530: The larger Narodnik movement lost virtually all support in the communes and rural parts of Russia. Government oppression further radicalized the Narodniks, and the peasants could not support enhanced radicalization of the already radical intelligentsia. Narodnichestvo had a direct influence on politics and culture in Romania , through the writings of Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea and the advocacy of
1519-511: The late 19th century, socialism and capitalism were slowly becoming the primary theories of Russian political thought, and Mikhaylovsky, realizing this shift in thought, began to tweak his original ideas of Narodnism, such that two groups of Narodniks emerged: the so-called "Critical Narodniks" and "Doctrinaire Narodniks". Critical Narodniks followed Mikhaylovsky, and assumed a very flexible stance on capitalism, whilst adhering to their basic orientation. The more well-known Doctrinaire Narodniks had
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1568-711: The life of the protagonist's family and ancestors; a "lengthy, multi-generational chronicle" set in the 18th century. Her second novel, Jack Raymond (1901), was quickly followed by her third, Olive Latham (1904) . Nearly a decade later, Voynich took a hiatus from writing and focused on music. Voynich began composing music around 1910. She joined the Society of Women Musicians during World War I. After she and her husband moved to New York, she devoted herself much more to music, creating many adaptations and transcriptions of existing works. In 1931 she published an edited volume of Chopin's letters. From 1933 to 1943 she worked at
1617-477: The narod, like the volk in Germany , was an attempt to establish a new national identity in Russia that was both nationalistic and liberal. Fyodor Dostoevsky said that "none of us like the narod as they actually are, but only as each of us has imagined them." Russian political activists and government officials often claimed to be working to improve the lives of Russian peasants; in reality, they were manipulating
1666-406: The peasantry the instrument to realize their hopes." As historian Daniel Field wrote, however, "Narodniks found that the peasant desire for land was not accompanied by a wish to rebel." The Russian government did not look favorably on the Narodniks advocating their overthrow, and peasants would only abide Narodniks so long as no criminal connections could be drawn to them. The Narodniks believed that
1715-480: The peasantry, they believed, had to be shown that the Tsar was not supernatural , and could be killed. This theory, called "direct struggle", intended "uninterrupted demonstration of the possibility of struggling against the government, in this manner lifting the revolutionary spirit of the people and its faith in the success of the cause, and organising those capable of fighting". On March 1, 1881, they succeeded in assassinating Alexander II . This act backfired on
1764-443: The peasants a purified version of themselves that could be radicalized; time demonstrated that this was simply not the case. Disunity between Bakunists and Lavrists, and Narodnik circles acting on independent initiative, were a further obstacle. The Bakunists believed revolution among the peasantry and populist uprisings in Russia would begin in the immediate future, the latter believed that propaganda should precede revolution, and
1813-461: The peasants were the class in Russia most prone to revolution, yet the peasants were not ready for revolutionary action. Government suppression of the Narodniki resulted in mass trials that widely publicized the views of the Narodniki, and outraged the public. Between 1873 and 1877, the Russian police arrested 1,611 propagandists, of whom 15% were women. Radicals in the movement focused on Russia's oppressive taxation and land laws, and their propaganda
1862-409: The popularity of her first book. The Voyniches emigrated to the United States in 1920, after Wilfred had moved the main base of his book business to New York. She concentrated more on music from this point on, working in a music school, but she continued her writing career as a translator, translating from Russian, Polish and French. A final novel, Put off thy Shoes , was published in 1945. Voynich
1911-554: The process would be more gradual. Bakunists believed that the peasants were ready to revolt with little propagandizing, whereas the Lavrists thought that considerable effort would be needed for the uprisings to begin. A lack of ideological unity resulted in varied approaches to the movement, and because of this the Narodniks no longer presented a united front to rural Russia. Some Narodniks believed in propagandizing by staying in one area for an extended period of time and assimilating into
1960-527: The revolutionary Narodniks . After her return to the UK, she settled in London, where she became involved in pro-Revolutionary activity. With Kravchinski she founded the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom , and helped to edit Free Russia , the Narodniks's English-language journal. In 1890, she met Michał Habdank-Wojnicz, a Polish revolutionary who had escaped from Siberia. Soon he also became Ethel Boole's life-partner. By 1895, they were living together and she
2009-426: The same rooms. To Orthodox Russian peasants in the 1870s, such disregard of gender norms were both offensive and off-putting. Nearly 60% of Narodnik women were from the wealthy classes, which meant that Russian peasants could not relate to most intellectuals in the movement intellectually, economically or socially. Historian Dmitri Pisarev writes that "sensing their inability to act alone, the intelligent radical made
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2058-410: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Voynich . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Voynich&oldid=839346288 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
2107-625: Was also used in the 1980s, in the ITV TV series Reilly, Ace of Spies . In 1980 the novel was adapted again as a TV miniseries The Gadfly , featuring Sergei Bondarchuk as Father Montanelli. Various other adaptations exist, including at least three operas and two ballets. Voynich's other four novels never achieved the same success as The Gadfly , but two of them extended its narrative. An Interrupted Friendship (1910) elaborates on The Gadfly ' s protagonist's backstory, and Put Off Thy Shoes (1945), Voynich's last novel, further focuses on
2156-487: Was calling herself Mrs. Voynich. They married in 1902. In 1904, he anglicised his name to Wilfrid Michael Voynich and became an antiquarian book dealer, giving his name eventually to the Voynich manuscript . In 1897, she published The Gadfly , which was an immediate international success. She published three more novels Jack Raymond (1901), Olive Latham (1904) and An Interrupted Friendship (1910), but none matched
2205-451: Was manager of a coal mine, believing that it would be good for her health. Described as "a religious fanatic and sadist", who regularly beat his children, he apparently forced Ethel to play the piano for hours on end. Ethel returned to London at the age of ten. She became withdrawn, dressing in black and calling herself "Lily". At the age of eighteen, she gained access to a legacy. This allowed her to study piano and musical composition at
2254-418: Was possible in order to fit in. In actuality, the peasants saw a poorly dressed person as a person with no authority or credibility. Accordingly, intellectuals dressing as they imagined the peasant dressed had an adverse effect; it actually made peasants suspicious of the intellectuals. Furthermore, Narodnik propaganda failed to address the more mundane, ordinary concerns of the peasantry. The everyday troubles of
2303-525: Was possible to forgo the capitalist phase of Russia's development and proceed directly to socialism . The Narodniks saw the peasantry as the revolutionary class that would overthrow the monarchy, and perceived the village commune as the embryo of socialism. However, they also believed that the peasantry would not achieve revolution on their own, insisting instead that history could only be made by outstanding personalities , who would lead an otherwise passive peasantry to revolution. Vasily Vorontsov called for
2352-466: Was unaware of the vast sales of The Gadfly in the Soviet Union until she was visited in New York by a Russian diplomat in 1955, who told her how highly regarded she was in the country. The following year, Adlai Stevenson secured an agreement for the payment of US$ 15,000 royalties to her. Ethel Lilian Voinich died on 27 July 1960 at the age of 96. According to her will, her body was cremated , and
2401-427: Was viewed as a threat by Tsar Alexander II. He ordered the arrest and trial of known Narodniks and Narodnik sympathizers in the peasantry; peasants were forced to expose the Narodniks to the authorities to escape persecution themselves. Beginning in 1877, a long and slow trial of 193 Narodniks was conducted. The propagandists had to either operate covertly or face imprisonment. The more the government tried to repress
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