Leisure time in everyday life of socialistrevolutionary terrorists: statement of the question

Abstract

The author argues whether it is appropriate to investigate leisure activities of the Socialist-Revolutionary terrorist groups as an aspect of their everyday life and suggests that the answer should be affirmative. The author takes an attempt to reconstruct leisure practices of terrorists in order to find out how existence inside a secret terrorist group influences leisure time of its members and to define the mode of work and rest of a terrorist which depended mainly on the level of secrecy of his group, its style of work and the role of the very terrorist inside the group that can be described as his terrorist “profession”. Active terrorists usually had very little time to spend as leisure: they were over-occupied with their terrorist work. The quality of their leisure was severely limited by the terms of secrecy. But this state of affairs was believed to be normal and even desirable because leisure as well as the private life and personal happiness were regarded as something miserable and unimportant in comparison with the revolutionary struggle. Within those limits socialist-revolutionary terrorists preferred the same leisure activities as those popular amongst other intelligent citizens (especially amongst those involved into the revolutionary movement): intercommunication with friends and comrades, reading, creative and sometimes scientific work, writing memoirs, keeping a diary. Nevertheless all these activities violated secrecy, so they were extremely limited by its demands. Some specific forms of leisure typical for the revolutionaries not involved into terrorist work (such as taking part in party meetings, mass demonstrations, workers’ study groups, etc.) were practically forbidden for terrorists because of the terms of secrecy. Terrorists outside active work (those in emigration or imprisoned) were less restrained in their choice of leisure activities and had much more spare time; so the analysis of their life shows what leisure activities would have been preferable for terrorists if they hadn’t been limited by secrecy and lack of time. All these patterns are developed on the matter of terrorists’ everyday reading.