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 every member of society. Kropotkin was also a proponent of “propaganda by deed,” a theory of Mikhail Bakunin that argued individuals should undertake violent actions in order to inspire revolutionary fervor in the general population. In the early 1870s, Kropotkin joined the revolutionary First International Working Men's Association.

He was arrested for openly criticizing the Russian government but then managed to escape to Switzerland. His extreme socialist views made him unpopular in Switzerland as well, so in 1881 he moved to France. The French authorities arrested Kropotkin in 1883 for sedition. While in prison, he wrote a book on his anarchist views called Paroles d'un revolte (Words of a Rebel, 1885); he often explains his views from a scientific standpoint. After he was released and had moved to England, he wrote another book called In Russian and French Prisons (1887). In this, he calls for more humane treatment of prisoners. In the next few years, he was an active participant in the international socialist movement and authored many more books, including Conquest of Bread (1892), Fields, Factories, and Workshops (1899), Mutual Aid (1902), and The Great French Revolution 1789–1793 (1909).

Now known around the world for his political views, Kropotkin returned home to Russia after the revolution took place in 1917. He soon became dismayed with the authoritarian regime of the Bolsheviks, and he felt that the revolution had ultimately failed. Kropotkin remained in Russia until his death on February 8, 1921. He left Ethics, Origin, and Development unfinished, but it was subsequently published in 1924.