The Rozhdestvensky Branch of the Assembly of Factory and Mill Workers - Sunday January 9, 1905

Given the late hour Vostokov was pleasantly surprised to find so many people were still at the branch. He guessed there were 20-25 people still gathered discussing what would happen when the march began. Vostokov sat among the group and waited for his opportunity to agitate.

He didn’t have to wait long. “Do you really think the Tzar would prevent us from marching to the palace?” One of the men in the group asked.

“Father Gapon was asking if people were willing to die.” Came one answer.

“The Tzar loves his people and we love him, ”another responded.

Vostokov took this opportunity. “The Tzar cares nothing about any of you. You threaten his power and he will not hesitate to end you.”

“Who are you? Some trouble maker? Perhaps a revolutionary?”

Vostokov smiled. “Me, I am nobody. Just a realist.”

“And you predict violence?”

“If troops from outside the city are brought in people will die.” Vostokov replied.

“Why from outside the city?”

“They don’t have to live with the consequences. They come in and kill and then go home. They aren’t in the city the next day or next week. They don’t see the lingering effects of the actions they take.”

“You are a revolutionary, with those ideas. Perhaps a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party?”

“And you must be a police informant trying to entrap me.”

“You are looking for trouble.”

“Usually so, but we have more in common than not, so there is no need to come to blows yet.”

“You insulted me.”

“You were giving off a police officer vibe.”

“Now you are making me think you are Okhrana.”

“I am Vostokov. I spent years in exile and no doubt will return to prison again. I am a proud Bolshevik and if you want to hear about a true revolutionary I can tell you a story or two.”

“You should probably leave. We want a peaceful march in the morning.”

“So do I. Like I said our interests align. If 150,000 workers can bring about peaceful change I am all for that. The Tzar will never allow it.”

“So we shouldn’t try it?”

“Absolutely we should try. It is time for everyone to pick a side. For reform or against it. I am for it. You are for it. Our lives have value. The Tzar needs to see that. If we are welcomed then we make progress. If we are turned away our enemy becomes clearer.”

“Ok, Vostokov, what do we do once our enemy becomes clear?”

“I hope it doesn’t come to this, but the answer is simple. We become revolutionaries.”

“And what does a revolutionary do?”

“It depends on how committed you are. For me the only road to follow is that of Nachayev.”

“I am not familiar with that name.”

“You don’t know Sergei Nachayev?”

“Should we?”

“What party does he belong to?”

“He died in prison over 20 years ago.”

“So why should we care about a man who has been dead for 20 years?”

“Because he was a true revolutionary.”

“But we don’t need revolution just some reform.”

“Tomorrow we will learn if the Tzar is capable of reform or if revolution is our only option.”

“Assuming you are correct and revolutionary actions are necessary, what does Nachayev teach us?”

“He outlined everything in his pamphlet The Revolutionary Catechism.”

“You aren’t planning on reading us a pamphlet are you?”

“No, just letting you know where you can find the information.”

“I doubt the censors will allow copies of that document to be seen.”

“Handwritten notes, illegal printing presses, word of mouth all work as means of defeating the censorship regime. They oppress us but we still have means to accomplish our mission.”

“What mission is that?”

“To fulfill the goals of the French Revolution, fraternity, liberty, and equality for all.”

“Tell us more about Nachayev, were those his goals?”

“No, he was a precursor to equality. In order to bring about a world where the workers control their own lives the current government must be destroyed. Nachayev was a destroyer. He created and presided over the Society of the Axe.”

“Not a bad name for an organization that wants to destroy things.”

“But he failed right?”

“No, he paved the way for us to be here today.”

“No.”

“Boo.”

“We are not revolutionaries!”

“You are marching on the streets in a few hours against the order of the government. What is that if not a revolutionary action?”

“A plea for help. The Tzar is kept in the dark. When he sees us he will help us.”

“Soon we will know if that is true.” Vostokov answered.

“It is, it is.”

“I am skeptical.”

“Of course you are, but you will be proven wrong.”

“What did the Society for the Axe do?”

“They were a secret revolutionary society built on the destruction of the Tzarist empire. In his pamphlet Nachayev told us the goal. He said “To weld the people into one single unconquerable and all-destructive force – this is our aim, our conspiracy, and our task.”

“How will destroying everything make things better?”

“Like a phoenix our society will be reborn in a more just way from the ashes of destruction.”

“That is delusional thinking.”

“We are getting destroyed now, why shouldn’t others share in our suffering?”

“It seems excessive. There has to be a collaborative process.”

“Collaboration with an autocrat?! It isn’t possible. You will see.”

“You keep saying that.”

“I was thrown into jail and exiled to Siberia and then out of the country for having bad ideas. I didn’t even get to act on them. No society can function where such oppression exists. I know personally about the brutality of the Tzar.”

“Are you no less brutal yourself? Didn’t you just say that everything needs to be destroyed?

“Because my eyes have been opened. It is just like Nechayev said “ The revolutionary is a dedicated man, merciless toward the State and toward the educated classes; and he can expect no mercy from them. Between him and them there exists, declared or concealed, a relentless and irreconcilable war to the death. He must accustom himself to torture.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if we beat you up for espousing revolutionary ideas.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time. Nor the last time. I don’t think it’s necessary right now. I think you would be better off working with me.”

“You would probably act as a saboteur.”

“We have shared goals, why would act against you?”

A man who been silent the entire conversation decided that this was the time for him to speak.

“Because you are a doomed man. You have no personal interests, no business affairs, no emotions, no attachments, no property, and you should have no name, even though you proudly proclaimed your name earlier. Everything in you should be wholly absorbed in the single thought and the single passion for revolution.”

“You have read Nachayev.” Vostokov said. His initial thought was the man had to Okhrana. But looking at the man more closely, Vostokov determined he was old. Too old to be an informant.

“I was there.” The man responded.

“Where?” Vostokov asked.

“With Nachayev, I fell under his spell. You have called us the Society of the Axe but I always preferred the other name. People’s Retribution. That’s what we wanted. Retribution. The world had failed us and we were going to get our vengeance. But Nachayev was a devil. He is not someone to admire.”

“If you were there you also have to have known his passion and dedication to his cause.” Vostokov interrupted.

“He was a contemptible man who would be best forgotten forever.”

“And yet you followed him?”

“I was young and reckless. Any efforts based on the ideals of Nachayev will be doomed.”

“The regime will be overthrown. It has too many detractors to survive.”

“Yes, reforms are needed but don’t replace a bear with an angry fire-breathing dragon.”

“Tell me why Nachayev is a devil.” Vostokov pivoted.

“He knew no morality. His entire existence was built on deception and lies. He had us believe his organization was far larger than it was. He was despotic. If you didn’t align with him you were risking your life. He committed murder out of a quarrel and used the revolution as his excuse. But it was not a revolutionary action. He was filled with hate and rage. He sought destruction for destruction’s sake.

These are not virtuous acts. A revolution at the hands of Nachayev could only ever produce chaos. His soul belongs to the devil.”

“There is no devil.” Vostokov said disdainfully.

“If you had meet Nachayev, you would know the devil was real and that he conversed with Nachayev.”