Year: 2016

Saint Ravachol

“Extraordinary escape of a young Nihilist girl…” (1879)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
THE Moscow journals relate an extraordinary escape of a young Nihilist girl named Gobieslawska from the hands of the police. They had discovered the house in which she was concealed, and were about to make the arrest, when, to their surprise, they saw a balloon rising from the garden containing the object of their search and two men. The balloon rapidly disappeared. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (September 13, 1879): 23. Up in a Balloon.— A novel mode of escape was recently practiced by a Nihilist. A young woman named Olga Gobieslawska had been wanted for a long time by the […]
Saint Ravachol

Tragedy In San Francisco (1893)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
Tragedy In San Francisco.—A shocking accident is reported from San Francisco during the performance of a charade representing a Nihilist plot, which was being given at the residence of Mrs. M’Coy, whose son, Mr. Albert M’Coy, appeared in the role of a Russian officer. Miss Grace King, who took the part of a Nihilist girl, and had to assassinate the officer, had been suffering from a sprained ankle. She had used a crutch, which, however, she laid aside previous to the charade. At the moment she was making a dagger-thrust her ankle failed, and she fell against M’Coy, the weapon […]
Saint Ravachol

Plot of a Beautiful Nihilist (Sophie Gunsberg, 1891)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
PLOT OF A BEAUTIFUL NIHILIST ______ To Make Her Lovers Kill the Czar—Her Failure and Trial—The Official’s Side of a Story Hitherto Told Differently. No authentic account has yet been given of the late political trial—or rather condemnation—of Russian Nihilists for high treason; for trial, in the English sense of the word, there was none. I have just had a long conversation with one of the dignitaries who played the part of judge, jury, and counsel for the crown during the brief ceremony which began by accusation, was continued by voluntary confession, and ended in condemnation to death. The ringleader […]
Saint Ravachol

A Horrible Story (Gesya Gelfman, 1881)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A HORRIBLE STORY. The story told by the dispatches about Hessy Helfmann, the Nihilist girl, is from Paris, and therefore to be received with strong suspicion, apart from the almost incredible character of the statement. Were it a story of any other country than Russia indeed it might be dismissed at once as a palpable fiction. Rut unhappily there are too many reasons for believing that in Russia police brutality is capable of being carried to great lengths, and that in a case like this, where the victim was a condemned regicide, there could be little temptation to refrain from […]
Saint Ravachol

Suspected Nihilists (Olga Ivanovsky, 1890)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
Suspected Nihilists. St. Petersburg, Dec. 9—The woman now on trial for connection with the nihilist conspiracies is a niece of Privy Councilor Illinsky, Director of the Holy Synod. Her name is Olga Ivanowsky. Several high ecclesiastical officials are Involved and startling developments are expected. “Suspected Nihilists,” San Francisco Call 69 no. 10 (December 10, 1890): 1.
Saint Ravachol

Arrested as Nihilists (1891)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
Arrested as Nihilists. St. Petersburg, Oct. 8.—A profound sensation was created here to-day. A young woman from Moscow was arrested, charged with being a Nihilist. She confessed and admitted that she left a trunk at the home of the well-known composer, Glazounoff, in which was a revolutionary proclamation. The police immediately proceeded to the house of Glazounoff. He vehemently protested his innocence, declaring that he was utterly ignorant of the contents of the trunk. He was nevertheless compelled to deposit 15,000 rubles as bail. “Arrested as Nihilists,” San Francisco Call 70 no. 131 (October 9, 1891): 1.
Saint Ravachol

A Female Nihilist (1902)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A FEMALE NIHILIST ——– Young Russian Woman With an Infernal Machine in Handkerchief LONDON. May 28. —A dispatch to the Central News from St. Petersburg, dated May 27, says: “Secret service agents arrested a young woman at Tsarkoeselo, the summer residence of the czar, yesterday, carrying an infernal machine concealed in a handkerchief. The identity of the woman has not been established.” “A Female Nihilist,” Los Angeles Herald 29 no. 240 (May 29, 1902): 1.
Saint Ravachol

A Nihilist Crime (1897)

June 22, 2016 A Beautiful Nihilist
A Nihilist Crime PARIS, Sept. 3—The body of a beautiful woman, naked and frightfully mutilated, with her skull smashed in, has been found in the river Seine. In the middle of the woman’s back were tattooed the words, “Long live Poland,” and “Death to traitors.” The remains are supposed to be those of a Nihilist who incurred the suspicion of fellow Nihilists. “A Nihilist Crime,” Los Angeles Herald 26 no. 339 (September 4, 1897): 1.
Contr'un

“Young Russian Woman With an Infernal Machine in Handkerchief”

June 22, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
The newest addition to the Libertarian Labyrinth archive is The Beautiful Nihilist: Representations of Revolutionary Women. The project is to gather material from the popular press depicting radical and particularly militant women, in all its sensationalist and often exploitative glory. The articles and tales collected here document a familiar fascination with a political variety of femme fatale, often with a great deal of emphasis on the sexual desirability and social status of the women portrayed in presumably “unwomanly” acts of violence. At the same time, however, the tabloid presentation often allows important bits of history and biography to show through. […]