Terrorism as a Socio-Political Phenomenon in the Moral Assessment of Russian Intelligentsia of the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries

The major subject of research of the present paper is the problem of the attitude of the Russian intelligentsia to political terror in Russia in the second half of the 19th -early 20th centuries.The work is based on the use of authentic sources: diaries, letters, recollections, memoirs, articles by the representatives of the intelligentsia of the period reviewed.The reasons for genesis of terrorism are analyzed, which consisted in incompletion of reforms, incapability of intelligentsia to deliver on their potential in any of the fields of activity, and the lack of political representation of intelligentsia in management structures.It was found that abusive policy towards revolutionaries on the part of the government contributed to the expansion of the support base for political terror.The nature of terror evolution in Russia and the social composition of participants in terrorist activities, represented by the intelligentsia, the nobility, students, and workers, were addressed.The dominant role of intelligentsia in terror was substantiated, which stood at its origins and of which it was the product.Glorification of the image of a revolutionary terrorist contributed to the formation of a social stereotype of a person sacrificing himself for the greater good, which in turn promoted involvement of new adherents in terror.The study revealed that intelligentsia, having no generally agreed position regarding the terrorist acts, mostly treated them more than loyally, justifying its position by the unreasonable, cruel policy of the authorities and inability to exercise control over it in any other way.Terror did not get unequivocal moral condemnation from intelligentsia, played its destructive role and drastically affected the socio-political development of Russia.