Kropotkin, Peter (1842–1921)

A Russian geographer and revolutionary, Peter Kropotkin published a large body of work promoting anarchism, but was ultimately disappointed in the economic and social outcomes of Russia's 1917 revolution.

Born in Moscow to a noble family, Kropotkin held the title of prince. When he turned 15, he joined the elite Corps des Pages of St. Petersburg so that upon graduation he could become a page to Czar Alexander II. In the 1860s, he chose to work in Siberia helping to implement Alexander's social reforms. In 1867, he studied the geography of eastern Siberia and was offered the position of secretary of the Imperial Geographical Society. Kropotkin turned down the job, renounced his aristocratic heritage, and devoted himself to instigating Russian revolution.

Kropotkin developed a theory of anarchist communism, a system in which goods and services could be distributed freely and equally with the cooperation of ...