Apollon Andreyevich Karelin (
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: Аполло́н Андре́евич Каре́лин; January 23, 1863,
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
- March 20, 1926,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
) was a Russian
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
.
Born into a wealthy family, Karelin became radicalized in his youth and trained as a lawyer. Passing through a series of radical political affiliations, he was subjected to political persecution, leading him to flee into exile in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
from 1905 to 1917. There, Karelin founded a group of expatriate Russian anarchists, the Brotherhood of Free Communists (russian: Братство вольных общинников, ), which numbered
Volin
Vsevolod Mikhailovich Eikhenbaum (russian: Все́волод Миха́йлович Эйхенба́ум; 11 August 188218 September 1945), commonly known by his psuedonym Volin (russian: Во́лин), was a Russian anarchist intellectual. H ...
among its members.
The Brotherhood split acrimoniously in 1913 over questions of leadership, accusations of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, and rumors of infiltration by the
Okhrana
The Department for Protecting the Public Security and Order (russian: Отделение по охранению общественной безопасности и порядка), usually called Guard Department ( rus, Охранное отд ...
.
After the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
, Karelin returned to Moscow. There, in 1918, he founded the All-Russian Federation of Anarchists, and he became editor of its press organ, ''Free Life'' (russian: Вольная жизнь, ), published in Moscow from 1919 to 1921. Controversially, Karelin urged anarchists to cooperate with the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
government, gaining a seat on the
All-Russian Central Executive Committee
The All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( rus, Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет, Vserossiysky Centralny Ispolnitelny Komitet, VTsIK) was the highest legislative, administrative and r ...
.
Karelin died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1926.
Writings
Karelin was a prolific writer and theorist whose interests ranged from economics to mysticism.
In 1921, he published a
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
, ''Rossiia v 1930 godu'' (''Russia In 1930''). In this novel, according to the blog ''Tolkovatelya'',
two English travelers tell about their visit to the anarchist country ..moving from one village-commune to another and talking with their inhabitants. These conversations are held around what Kropotkin and Karelin themselves are saying in their theoretical works: natural exchange, free distribution of labor, life in communes, based on solidarity, a union of the city and the village without forcible urbanization. The transition to an anarcho-communist system takes place without coercion. Moreover, no laws, other than ethics, regulate the life of communes. Only conviction and moral authority can influence the decision of each person. Nonviolence (as in the Tolstoy communities) is the main feature of this utopia, which distinguishes it from the general background of the revolutionary era.
Bibliography
* (). New York: Izd. Soiuza russkikh rabochikh, 191
* (). St. Petersburg: Izd. A.S. Suvorin, 189
* (). St. Peterburg: L.F. Panteli e ev, 189
* (). London: Khleb i volia, 1912.
* (). Moscow: Buntar, 1918.
* (). Moscow: Vserossiyskiy tsentr. ispolnitel'nyy komitet sovetov r.,s.,k. i k. deputatov, 1919.
* () Moscow: Izdanie Vseros. Federacii Anarch.-Kommunist., 1923.
* (). Detroit: Izd. Professoinalʹnogo soiuza, 1923.
* (). Moscow: Vserossiiskaia federatsiia anarkhistov, 1921.
* (). Buenos Aires: Golos Truda, 1921.
* (). Buenos Aires: Izd. Rabochei Izdavatelʹskoi Gruppy v Argentine, 1924.
* (). Detroit: Profsoiuz, 195
Under the pseudonym "A. Kochegarov":
* (). Geneva: Izd. Bratstva Volʹnych Obščinnikov, 191
* (). Bridgeport, Conn.: n.p., 191
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karelin, Apollon
1863 births
1926 deaths
Anarcho-communists
Russian anarchists
Russian male writers
Soviet anarchists
Writers from the Russian Empire