Mark Natanson

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Mark Natanson (January 6, 1851 – July 29, 1919) was a Lithuanian-born Russian revolutionary who helped found and lead several important political groups in the struggle against autocracy. He was the uncle of Alexander Berkman and, in his later years, a leading figure in the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries.

Early life
Natanson was born in Švenčionys, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire, to a Lithuanian Jewish family. His parents died when he was young, and he was raised by his uncle. He finished school in Kaunas (then in the Russian Empire) in 1868 and studied in St. Petersburg at the Medical and Surgical Academy (1868–71) and then at the Institute of Agriculture (1871). While studying, he became involved in radical student politics.

Populist movement
With his first wife, Natanson helped organize the Circle of Tchaikovsky, a group of Narodniks who believed in moral self-improvement and rejected violent nihilism. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1869–71, and in 1872 he was exiled to Arkhangelsk province. He briefly converted to Orthodoxy to marry Olga Shleisner, a step some used to gain acceptance in exile. In 1876 he returned to Petrograd, helped organize the escape of fellow revolutionary Peter Kropotkin, and worked to unite several Narodnik circles into Land and Liberty (which later split). Natanson was arrested again in 1877 and exiled to Eastern Siberia; after returning from exile in 1889, he lived in Saratov and worked on the local railway.

The People's Will and early exile
After the split of Land and Liberty, Natanson pushed for uniting populists, social democrats, and liberals into a single liberation movement. In 1893, at a congress in Saratov, the organization Narodnaya Volya (The People’s Will) was formed, with its headquarters in Oryol and a printing operation in Smolensk. The group favored urban workers and intellectuals and supported political terrorism as a tactic. Natanson did not participate in terrorist acts himself. In 1894 he was exiled to Yakutsk, where he married Varvara Alexandrova. He later worked as an accountant on a shipyard project on Lake Baikal and earned respect for his organizational skills.

People’s Rights Party and later exile
On returning to European Russia, Natanson became active in Saratov and in 1893 founded the People’s Rights Party (Narodnogo Prava), which argued that organized public opinion should be the main weapon against autocracy. The party was short-lived, and in 1894 Natanson was arrested again and banished to eastern Siberia for ten years. He remained active in exile, keeping the party treasury and performing organizational work. After stints in Baku and a move to Switzerland in 1904, Natanson met Vladimir Lenin. By this time Russian politics had split into three main currents: liberal, narodnik/populist, and socialist-democratic. In 1902 the Narodniks united into the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR). Natanson joined the SRs and supported their turn toward terrorist tactics after the assassination of Vyacheslav von Plehve, the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Years of exile and return
Natanson’s stance was complex. He helped coordinate efforts within the SRs and, in 1904, negotiated with leaders from the Social Democratic faction to seek a broader coalition. During the 1905 Revolution he moved to Finland. At the first SR Congress in early 1906, he was elected to the Central Committee. Although he supported some militant actions, he remained wary of indiscriminate violence. In 1907–08 he defended the dismissed Narodniks charged as agents provocateurs and, despite arguing with some colleagues, continued to influence SR policy from exile in Switzerland.

Left SRs and the October Revolution
After the February Revolution in Russia, Natanson returned to Russia through German territory, like Lenin. He became a prominent leader of the Left SRs, a more radical wing that grew critical of the Provisional Government and Kerensky. The Left SRs supported the October Revolution and Natanson helped form the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, serving on their Presidium and Central Committee. They rejected the Brest-Litovsk treaty’s terms and, some members argued, took up arms against the Bolsheviks. Natanson opposed the armed uprising against the Bolsheviks and, fearing a counter-revolution, founded the Party of Revolutionary Communism, which later merged with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He remained wary of Lenin’s suppression of other parties, and in 1919 he went into exile again, reportedly saying he no longer believed in Lenin.

Death
Mark Natanson died in July 1919 in Switzerland from complications after surgery for a prostate tumor (thromboembolism and purulent pneumonia). He was buried in Bern.

Legacy
Natanson played a pivotal role in shaping Russia’s revolutionary movements. He helped found and lead several key groups, including the Circle of Tchaikovsky, Land and Liberty, Narodnaya Volya, the People’s Rights Party, and the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. Though often at odds with the methods and leaders of his time, he remained active in the struggle for political change and, later, in the early stages of the Bolshevik era.