Sofia Perovskaya, Terrorist Princess

Sofia Perovskaya, Terrorist Princess
Author: Robert R. Riggs
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Assassins
ISBN: 9780999155905

Sofia Perovskaya personally commanded the bomb squad that killed Tsar Alexander II of Russia on March 1, 1881 (date according to the Julian calendar). This startling assassination was the culmination of acts of the self-identified terrorist faction of Russian radicals, known as Narodnaya Volya. The deadly bombing was at bottom the culmination of an exercise of Perovskaya¿s personal force and stubborn determination. Her ascetic, empathic personality, avid feminism, intelligence and drive were mixed with an irrational, suicidal streak. She was born into a wealthy and prestigious family in the upper echelon of the nobility, one with royal connections as her great-great-great uncle was the husband of Russia¿s Empress Elizabeth (ruled, 1741 - 1761). Her father was the civil governor of St. Petersburg, although, he had some issues with an inferiority complex as is detailed in original research for this book. How then did Perovskaya become a terrorist leader, eager to die for the cause of radical utopian reform of Russian society? The question is answered in this in-depth profile of an entire generation of rebellious, idealistic youth, called the Russian ¿Generation of the Sixties,¿ that in many ways resembled the American Generation of the Sixties.This book is part of a series of profiles of historical terrorists. Terrorism, as these profiles show, has deep roots in an irrational facet of the human psyche. As civilized society has moved toward pluralism and respect for human life, the terrorist act of self-immolation has grown correspondingly in its appeal to the dark side of the mind. The terrorist, contrary to belief, is not the product of any particular ideological or religious movement. He or she is more accurately understood as the product of a peculiar personality disorder, one that takes over people who are intelligent, creative, adaptive and highly motivated, and who thirst for glory, and makes them suicidal. This explains the futility, as well as the lack of effectiveness, of much of what is done in the name of the war on terrorism. The typical response to terrorism is an overreaction syndrome, which can spawn many more terrorists.

Stalin's Soviet Justice

Stalin's Soviet Justice
Author: David M. Crowe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2019-06-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350083364

From the 'show' trials of the 1920s and 1930s to the London Conference, this book examines the Soviet role in the Nuremberg IMT trial through the prism of the ideas and practices of earlier Soviet legal history, detailing the evolution of Stalin's ideas about the trail of Nazi war criminals. Stalin believed that an international trial for Nazi war criminals was the best way to show the world the sacrifices his country had made to defeat Hitler, and he, together with his legal mouthpiece Andrei Vyshinsky, maintained tight control over Soviet representatives during talks leading up to the creation of the Nuremberg IMT trial in 1945, and the trial itself. But Soviet prosecutors at Nuremberg were unable to deal comfortably with the complexities of an open, western-style legal proceeding, which undercut their effectiveness throughout the trial. However, they were able to present a significant body of evidence that underscored the brutal nature of Hitler's racial war in Russia from 1941-45, a theme which became central to Stalin's efforts to redefine international criminal law after the war. Stalin's Soviet Justice provides a nuanced analysis of the Soviet justice system at a crucial turning point in European history and it will be vital reading for scholars and advanced students of the legal history of the Soviet Union, the history of war crimes and the aftermath of the Second World War.

The History of Terrorism

The History of Terrorism
Author: Gérard Chaliand
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2016-08-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520966007

This authoritative work provides an essential perspective on terrorism by offering a rare opportunity for analysis and reflection at a time of ongoing violence, threats, and reprisals. Some of the best international specialists on the subject examine terrorism’s complex history from antiquity to the present day and find that terror, long the weapon of the weak against the strong, is a tactic as old as warfare itself. Beginning with the Zealots of the first century CE, contributors go on to discuss the Assassins of the Middle Ages, the 1789 Terror movement in Europe, Bolshevik terrorism during the Russian Revolution, Stalinism, “resistance” terrorism during World War II, and Latin American revolutionary movements of the late 1960s. Finally, they consider the emergence of modern transnational terrorism, focusing on the roots of Islamic terrorism, al Qaeda, and the contemporary suicide martyr. Along the way, they provide a groundbreaking analysis of how terrorism has been perceived throughout history. What becomes powerfully clear is that only through deeper understanding can we fully grasp the present dangers of a phenomenon whose repercussions are far from over. This updated edition includes a new chapter analyzing the rise of ISIS and key events such as the 2015 Paris attacks.

America's Culture of Terrorism

America's Culture of Terrorism
Author: Jeffory A. Clymer
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2004-07-21
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0807861510

Although the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 shocked the world, America has confronted terrorism at home for well over a century. With the invention of dynamite in 1866, Americans began to worry about anonymous acts of mass violence in a way that differed from previous generations' fears of urban riots, slave uprisings, and mob violence. Focusing on the volatile period between the 1886 Haymarket bombing and the 1920 bombing outside J. P. Morgan's Wall Street office, Jeffory Clymer argues that economic and cultural displacements caused by the expansion of industrial capitalism directly influenced evolving ideas about terrorism. In America's Culture of Terrorism, Clymer uncovers the roots of American terrorism and its impact on American identity by exploring the literary works of Henry James, Ida B. Wells, Jack London, Thomas Dixon, and Covington Hall, as well as trial transcripts, media reports, and the cultural rhetoric surrounding terrorist acts of the day. He demonstrates that the rise of mass media and the pressures of the industrial wage-labor economy both fueled the development of terrorism and shaped society's response to it. His analysis not only sheds new light on American literature and culture a century ago but also offers insights into the contemporary understanding of terrorism.

A History of Terrorism

A History of Terrorism
Author: Walter Laqueur
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2001
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0765807998

Assassinations, bombings, hijackings, diplomatic kidnappings-terrorism is the most publicized form of political violence. The history of terrorism goes back a very long time, but the very fact that there is such a history has frequently been ignored, even suppressed. This may be because terrorism has not appeared with equal intensity at all times. When terrorism reappeared in the late twentieth century after a period of relative calm, there was the tendency to regard it as a new phenomenon, without precedent. The psychological study of terrorism has never been much in fashion. But this neglect has left a number of crucial questions unanswered. Among these are why some people who share the same convictions turn to terrorism and others do not. What is terrorism's true impact on international politics? What influence might it exert in the future? A History of Terrorism completes Walter Laqueur's pioneering and authoritative study of guerilla warfare and terrorist activity. He charts the history of political terror from nineteenth-century Europe, through the anarchists of the 1880s and 1890s, the left- and right-wing clashes during the twentieth century, and the multinational operations of Arab and other groups today. Laqueur examines the sociology of terrorism: funding, intelligence gathering, weapons and tactics, informers and countermeasures, and the crucial role of the media. He probes the "terrorist personality" and how terrorists have been depicted in literature and films. The doctrine of systematic terrorism and current interpretations of terrorism, its common patterns, motives, and aims, are unflinchingly faced and clearly explicated. Finally, Laqueur considers the effectiveness of terrorism and examines the ominous possibility of nuclear blackmail. Challenging accepted assumptions, forecasting the changes in terrorist activity that will affect tomorrow's headlines, Walter Laqueur demystifies terrorism without belittling its importance. Together with its companion volume, Guerrilla Warfare, also available from Transaction, A History of Terrorism is an essential tool for assessing and understanding this all-too-often sensationalized modern expression of extreme political action.

A History of Terrorism

A History of Terrorism
Author: Andrew White
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2017-09-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351315862

Terrorism is often mistakenly thought of as a modern phenomenon, but it goes back quite some time. A History of Terrorism charts the history of political terror from nineteenth-century Europe to the multinational operations of Arab and other groups today. The question is: What is its true impact today and in the future? Laqueur addresses long-neglected psychological issues concerning the origins of and motivations behind terrorism, and examines the sociology of terrorism in depth: funding, intelligence gathering, weapons and tactics, informers and countermeasures, and the crucial role of the media depiction of the "terrorist personality". Systematic terrorism and current interpretations of terrorism, its common patterns, motives, and aims, are unflinchingly faced and clearly explicated. Laqueur ultimately considers the effectiveness of terrorism and examines the ominous possibility of nuclear blackmail. Originally published in 1977, this book is one of the two most quoted works on terrorism. This expanded edition features a new preface and important contributions by distinguished security expert Bruce Hoffman that apply Laqueur's classic and seemingly timeless work to contemporary terrorism issues.

The History of Terrorism

The History of Terrorism
Author: Gérard Chaliand
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2016-08-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520292502

First published in English in 2007 under title: The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda.

Alexander I

Alexander I
Author: Marie-Pierre Rey
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 437
Release: 2012-11-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1609090659

Alexander I was a ruler with high aspirations for the people of Russia. Cosseted as a young grand duke by Catherine the Great, he ascended to the throne in 1801 after the brutal assassination of his father. In this magisterial biography, Marie-Pierre Rey illuminates the complex forces that shaped Alexander's tumultuous reign and sheds brilliant new light on the handsome ruler known to his people as "the Sphinx." Despite an early and ambitious commitment to sweeping political reforms, Alexander saw his liberal aspirations overwhelmed by civil unrest in his own country and by costly confrontations with Napoleon, which culminated in the French invasion of Russia and the burning of Moscow in 1812. Eventually, Alexander turned back Napoleon's forces and entered Paris a victor two years later, but by then he had already grown weary of military glory. As the years passed, the tsar who defeated Napoleon would become increasingly preoccupied with his own spiritual salvation, an obsession that led him to pursue a rapprochement between the Orthodox and Roman churches. When in exile, Napoleon once remarked of his Russian rival: "He could go far. If I die here, he will be my true heir in Europe." It was not to be. Napoleon died on Saint Helena and Alexander succumbed to typhus four years later at the age of forty-eight. But in this richly nuanced portrait, Rey breathes new life into the tsar who stood at the center of the political chessboard of early nineteenth-century Europe, a key figure at the heart of diplomacy, war, and international intrigue during that region's most tumultuous years.

Living My Life

Living My Life
Author: Emma Goldman
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 532
Release: 1970-01-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780486225449

The autobiography of the early radical leader and her participation in communist, anarchist, and feminist activities

Sisterhood Is Global

Sisterhood Is Global
Author: Robin Morgan
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 798
Release: 2016-03-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1504033248

A powerful and essential anthology that sheds light on the status of women throughout the world Hailed by Alice Walker as “one of the most important human documents of the century,” this collection of groundbreaking essays examines the global status of women’s experiences, from oppression to persecution. Originally published in 1984, the compilation features pieces written by a diverse set of powerful women—journalists, politicians, grassroots activists, and scholars—from seventy countries. Author Robin Morgan, a champion of women’s rights herself, expertly weaves these inspiring essays into one comprehensive feminist text. These compelling “herstories” contain thoroughly researched statistics on the status of women throughout the world. Each chapter focuses on a different country and includes data on education, government, marriage, motherhood, prostitution, rape, sexual harassment, and sexual preference. Sisterhood Is Global transcends political systems and geographical boundaries to unite women and their experiences in a way that remains unequalled, even decades after its first publication.