Psychohistorical approaches to 1905 radicalism

Shifting the emphasis from ideological justifications for revolutionary activism to psychological conditions that contributed to the escalation of political violence in Russia after the turn of the twentieth century, this chapter analyses the impact of a rapid breakdown of traditional collective identities on the behaviour patterns of Russian radicals. It focuses on individual pressures and limitations, camouflaged motives and aberrant personality states as the driving forces behind extremist tendencies, and demonstrates that, as part of the turbulent individuation process, self-loathing and self-denial were often projected externally, manifesting themselves in aggressive and destructive political acts.