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slaughter of men ." Elsewhere he is more realistic: "Inevitably the Russian
revolution will be a terrible revolution. Whoever is frightened of horrors and
mud had better get away from this world and this revolution : but whoever
wants to serve the revolution should know where it will lead him and must
brace himself and be ready for anything." Yet even here one can feel a
reluctance to face what the revolution would really be like, the violence it
would actually require.
In practice, Bakunin , however eagerly he was awaiting the revolution ,
was immediately concerned with the long-term preparations for it. It is in this
connection that he developed his ideas about the role of secret societies. He
has been much derided for his love of conspiracy for its own sake, for his
willingness , for example,
to
issue a membership card of the World
Revolutionary Alliance number 2271 , when the recipient seems
to
have been
the only member ofan organization Bakunin had that moment invented . For
all the absurdity ofsome of his actions, his ideas about secret societies were not
far removed from those of some later revolutionaries, including Lenin and
Antonio Gramsci , about the role of the revolutionary party. "Strong in the
idea behind them, " Bakunin wrote, " expressing the very essence of popular
instincts, desires and demands in their clear and conscious aims, among a
crowd of people who would be struggling without any purpose or plan, these
groups would finally have the strength of that close solidarity , which binds
isolated groups in one organic whole , the strength of mind and energy of its
members , who manage to create round themselves a circle of people who are
more or less devoted to the same idea , and who are naturally subject to their
influence . ... They would be in a position . .. to lead the people towards
the most complete realization of the socio-economic ideal and the
organisation of the fullest popular freedom. This is what is called
the
collective dictatorship
[the italics are Bakunin's own] of a secret organisa–
tion."
The basic problem for Bakunin as for many other anarchists was how to
combine the strict discipline and strong organization needed to run revolu–
tionary groups of this type with the freedom and spontaneity which the
revolution must preserve at all costs. It was a problem of which Bakunin was
well aware , even if he did not solve it . He saw the influence of the
revolutionary party as being exercized, just as his own influence was,
" exclusively through the natural , personal influence of its members, who
have not the slightest power, are scattered in an unseen web throughout the
regions, districts and communes." This "secret collective dictatorship"
would continue after the revolution . Its members would remain unknown
and unhonored , "solely and completely overwhelmed with the passion of
liberty for all people . They must be people who would refuse personal
