Anarchism (from the Greek “without ruler”, “no governance”) is a socio-political movement, whose supporters aim to liberate people from all forms of oppression, call for the elimination of state institutions, and the creation of a decentralized society based on the voluntary cooperation of people.

The most prominent ideologists of anarchism in Russia in the second half of the 19th century were Mikhail Bakunin and Pyotr Kropotkin. In 1900 and 1903, two groups appeared in Geneva: Russian anarchists and Khleb i Volya [Bread and Freedom]. Also, in 1903, the Chernoye Znamya [Black Banner] community emerged in Russia.

The Anarchist movement in Russia was heterogenic and fragmented. Some groups gave priority to “direct actions” against the state and private property (terrorist acts, expropriations). By 1907, there were more than 200 anarchist associations, but after the suppression of the revolution of 1905–1907, the number of movement’s supporters significantly decreased.

The February Revolution of 1917 pushed for the revival of anarchism. Many anarchists returned to Russia from emigration; federations and associations of anarchists of various trends were re-established in Moscow, Petrograd, Samara, Saratov, Kyiv, Irkutsk, Odessa, Rostov-on-Don, and other cities. The influence of anarchists in the navy and the army had increased. The most influential were the Moscow and Petrograd Federations of anarchist groups, the Union of Anarcho-Syndicalist Propaganda “The Voice of Labor”.