Killing the State Within Oneself. How Rebels, Philosophers, and Dreamers Invented Russian Anarchism
They were called madmen, utopians, and dangerous fanatics undermining public order. They believed that human freedom and dignity do not depend on the will of the state and its laws. Philosopher Nikolai Gerasimov explores the intellectual history of Russian anarchism through the biographies of its key figures: Prince Kropotkin arrives at anarchy through populism, Leo Tolstoy brings Christ into it, Emma Goldman fights for women's liberation, and Soviet biocosmonauts dream of colonizing space and resurrecting the dead. This book is about those who, in the era of world wars, revolutions, and totalitarian regimes, had the courage to oppose power in all its forms.