The Nihilist Sergei Gennadiyevich Nechaev, was an only child, excitable, prone to temper tantrums, he could be cold and aloof toward others, and his mood could change in an instant. He was born in Ivanovo, a small textile town in western Russia on 2 October, 1847. He was radicalised from an early age as he witnessed his father struggle to make ends meet working as a sign painter and waiter. The humiliations he saw him endure at the hands of the local gentry caused great resentment in the young man, and Sergei was not one to forget a sleight, personal or otherwise. There was little for a young man to do in Ivanovo, especially one already obsessed with the idea of revolution. At the first opportunity in 1865, he moved to Moscow, but found it a deeply conservative city unresponsive to the skewed radicalism of unsophisticated provincials, he quickly moved onto St Petersburg where he studied to be a teacher. For Sergei, however, his studies were little more than a distraction. He was only truly interested in promoting student unrest. In 1869, he devised the student movement programme for revolutionary activity. This brought him to the attention of the Authorities and a warrant was issued for his arrest. In late January 1869, he faked his own death soon after fleeing Russia for Switzerland. Once in Geneva and pretending to be the leader of a party of militants he soon made the acquaintance of the revolutionary Diaspora, in particular the leading anarchist and fellow Russian, Mikhail Bakunin. Their relationship quickly became close and passionate and soon developed into something more than friendship. But as Bakunin was soon to discover, his new young friend was no anarchist, he was a nihilist. In the spring of 1869, Nechaev wrote and published his Catechism of a Revolutionary. It was a destructive and unforgiving document and it has influenced revolutionaries from Lenin to the Red Brigades. It called for the utter destruction of State, Church and Society, and to do so by violent means. There could be no compromise, no reform and no pity. What exists must be destroyed before any new world could be built. If this meant the death of millions then so be it. It was Nechaev, not Lenin, who coined the phrase "the end justifies the means". After briefly collaborating with Nechaev, Bakunin began to distance himself from his young friend, but the damage to his reputation had already been done.
Nechaev, shortly before capture With the help and encouragement of Bakunin, Nechaev clandestinely returned to Russia. He had been provided with money probably intended to ensure that he stayed. Despite having cash in his pocket however, Nechaev lived an austere life. The money he decided would only be used for political activity. He now established himself as the Russian Representative of the Worldwide Revolutionary Movement, another figment of his fevered imagination. As the leader of his own group Narodnya Resprava (Peoples' Russia) he now began to write violently against his old friend Bakunin whom he described as soft and cowardly. Nechaev was becoming increasingly erratic in his behaviour, fanatical in his beliefs, and paranoid. When a member of his group, Ivan Ivanov, dared to criticise his tactics, Nechaev murdered him. In a furious assault the unfortunate Ivanov was beaten and stabbed repeatedly before Nechaev shot him in the head, disposing of his body
in the River Neva through a hole in the ice. Again Nechaev was forced to flee Russia. Returning to Geneva, Nechaev and Bakunin were reconciled. The older man, delighted to see his young friend again, went to great lengths to defend him against his critics. But Nechaev was his own worst enemy. He trusted no one and believed that all Bakunin's associates were looking to betray him. He began stealing private papers with the intention of using them to blackmail those who would give him up into protecting him. There is little doubt that Bakunin loved the young man he referred to as his 'tiger cub' but even he now began to warn others of his behaviour. After threatening to kill a publisher who had Demanded that Bakunin fulfil a contract any friends he still had began to desert him. Nechaev, haunted by betrayal, was by now a hunted man. Unable to move around by day he lived in a series of safe houses. On 14 August, 1872, he was arrested and handed over to the Russian Secret Police. He was taken back to Russia where on 8 January 1873 he was sentenced to 20 years hard labour for the murder of Ivanov. Still he managed to correspond with other revolutionaries with whom he hoped to organise his escape. It never happened. Despite being beaten and tortured he never betrayed his comrades. On 3 December, 1882, he was found dead in his cell, almost certainly murdered. At no time did he ever waver in his convictions or in his belief in the redemptive necessity of violence. Only upon the utter destruction of the old could the new be built. Extracts from Catechism of a Revolutionary: "Morality is everything which contributes to the triumph of the revolution; immoral and criminal is everything that stands in its way". "The revolutionary is a dedicated man, merciless towards the state and toward the educated classes, and he can expect no mercy from them. Between him and them there exists, concealed or otherwise, a relentless and unreconciled war to the death". "He is not a revolutionary if he has any sympathy for this world. He should not hesitate to destroy any position, any place, or any man in this world. He must hate everyone and everything with equal venom".