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The Combat Organization (Russian: Боевая Организация, romanized: Boyevaya Organizatsiya, or the Fighting Organization) was the terrorist branch within the Socialist Revolutionary Party of Russia. It was a terror sub-group that was given autonomy under that Party. In his memoirs, group member Boris Savinkov called the group the "Terrorist Brigade."[1] (This phrasing was followed in his own memoirs by Whittaker Chambers, an American spy for the Soviets.[2])
| Combat Organization of the Socialist Revolutionary Party | |
|---|---|
| Боевая организация партии социалистов-революционеров | |
| Leader | Grigory Gershuni (1902–1904) Yevno Azef (1904–1908) Boris Savinkov (1908–1911) |
| Dates of operation | 1902–1911 |
| Country | Russia |
| Ideology | Revolutionary socialism Populism (Russian) |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| Part of | Socialist Revolutionary Party |
| Opponents |  Russian Empire |
History
editIn 1902, Grigory Gershuni founded and led the group. In July 1904 they murdered the Russian Minister of the Interior, Vyacheslav von Plehve.
In 1904, Gershuni was arrested, and Yevno Azef succeeded him, with Boris Savinkov as his deputy. Azef, a double-agent in the employ of the Tsarist secret police Okhrana, changed the Terrorist Brigade's mode of attack from firearms to dynamite. In its middle period (1903–1906) the brigade's members included more than a dozen women and more than four dozen men—some nobles, honorary citizens, priests, and merchants. Most were 20–30 years old; 19 were Jews, and two Poles.[3] In 1908, Savinkov succeeded Azef, but the group disbanded shortly thereafter.
Members
edit- Grigory Gershuni
- Yevno Azef (also "Evno" and "Azev"/"Azeff" and "Yevno Asiev"[4])
- Boris Savinkov (also "Savinkoff")
- Mikhail Melnikov
- Stepan Balmashov
- Thomas Kachura
- Igor Sazonov (also "Yegor" or "Egor" and "Sozonov")
- Ivan Kalyayev ("Kaliaev" in the 1931 translation of Savinkov's Memoirs of a Terrorist)
- Sikorsky
- Borishansky
- Dulebov
- Shveitser (also "Schweitser"/"Schweizer")
- Karl Trauberg[5]
Assassination efforts
editAssassinations
edit- 1902: Dmitry Sipyagin
- 1904: Vyacheslav von Plehve
- 1905: Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
- Nicholas Bogdanovich (governor of Ufa)
- 1906: Vladimir von der Launitz
Failed assassinations
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Savinkov, Boris Viktorovich (1931). Memoirs of a Terrorist. Joseph Shaplen (trans.). New York: A. & C. Boni. p. 364. LCCN 31018026.
- ^ Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 65–66. LCCN 52005149.
- ^ Gorodnitsky, R. (1998). Fighting Organization Socialist Revolutionary Party 1901-1911. Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN). pp. 235–236. ISBN 5-86004-120-9.
- ^ Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 66 (fn). LCCN 52005149.
- ^ Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 66 (fn). LCCN 52005149.
External sources
edit- Boris Savinkov, Memoirs of a Terrorist (New York: Boni, 1931)/Воспоминания террориста (1917) LCCN 72-5616.
- Albert Camus, The Just Assassins / Les Justes (Paris: Gallimard 1950)
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