SR Combat Organization

The Combat Organization (Russian: Боевая Организация, or the Fighting Organization) was the terrorist branch within the Social Revolutionary Party of Russia. It was a terror sub-group that was given autonomy under that Party. In his memoirs, group member Boris Savinkov called the group the "Terrorist Brigade."[1] (This phrasing was followed in his own memoirs by Whittaker Chambers, an American spy for the Soviets.[2])

SR Combat Organization
Боевая организация партии социалистов-революционеров
LeaderGrigory Gershuni (1902–1904)
Yevno Azef (1904–1908)
Boris Savinkov (1908–1911)
Dates of operation1902 (1902)–1911 (1911)
CountryRussia
IdeologyRevolutionary socialism
Left-wing terrorism
Political positionLeft-wing
Part ofSocialist Revolutionary Party
Opponents Russian Empire

History

In 1902, Grigory Gershuni founded and led the group. In July 1904 they murdered the Russian Minister of the Interior, Vyacheslav von Plehve.

In 1904, Gershuni was arrested, and Yevno Azef succeeded him, with Boris Savinkov as his deputy. Azef, a double-agent in the employ of the Tsarist secret police Okhrana, changed the Terrorist Brigade's mode of attack from firearms to dynamite. In its middle period (1903–1906) the brigade's members included more than a dozen women and more than four dozen men—some nobles, honorary citizens, priests, and merchants. Most were 20–30 years old; 19 Jews, and two Poles.[3] In 1908, Savinkov succeeded Azef, but the group disbanded shortly thereafter.

Members

Assassination efforts

Assassinations

Failed assassinations

See also

References
  1. Savinkov, Boris Viktorovich (1931). Memoirs of a Terrorist. Joseph Shaplen (trans.). New York: A. & C. Boni. p. 364. LCCN 31018026.
  2. Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 65–66. LCCN 52005149.
  3. Gorodnitsky, R. (1998). Fighting Organization Socialist Revolutionary Party 1901-1911. Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN). pp. 235–236. ISBN 5-86004-120-9.
  4. Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 66 (fn). LCCN 52005149.
  5. Chambers, Whittaker (1952). Witness. New York: Random House. pp. 66 (fn). LCCN 52005149.

External sources
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