1844–1934
○ Natural causes
'Grandmother of the Russian Revolution' who endured 44 years of prison and exile; co-founder of the Socialist Revolutionary Party
"Mr. Kennan, we may die in exile, and our children may die in exile, and our children's children may die in exile, but something will come of it at last" — to George Kennan in Siberia, 1885.
Born into the nobility, she helped free her family's serfs in 1861, then joined the 1874 'Going to the People' movement. At the 1878 Trial of the 193 she became the first woman sentenced to katorga for a political crime, enduring 22 years in prison and Siberian exile that brought international fame through George Kennan's writings. Released in 1896, she co-founded the Socialist Revolutionary Party with Grigory Gershuni and led creation of its Combat Organization, then raised funds on a 1904 U.S. tour where she was dubbed 'Babushka.' After the February Revolution she returned as the symbolic elder of the Provisional Government and chaired the Pre-Parliament, but opposed the Bolshevik takeover and backed the White cause. Exiled in 1918, she died in Czechoslovakia.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1861Helped free serfs on family estate; opened school, library, and cooperative bank for peasants
- 1873–1874Formed radical commune in Kiev; joined 'Going to the People,' propagandizing in villages with false passports
- 1874–1878Arrested; held in St. Petersburg House of Preliminary Detention; convicted at Trial of the 193 — first woman sentenced to katorga (5 years, Kara mines)
- 1878–1896Served katorga at Kara, exiled to Barguzin and Selenginsk; recaptured after 1881 escape, 4 more years katorga; 22 years imprisonment/exile; interviewed by George Kennan
- 1896–1901Released under Nicholas II coronation amnesty; with Grigory Gershuni revived populist movement in Minsk, laid groundwork for SR Party
- 1901–1903Co-founded Socialist Revolutionary Party; toured Russia illegally with Gershuni building organization; led creation of SR Combat Organization
- 1903–1905Fled to Geneva; attended 1904 Amsterdam Congress of the Second International; toured U.S. raising ~$10,000; nicknamed 'Babushka'
- 1905–1910Returned to Russia for the 1905 Revolution; betrayed by Yevno Azef in 1908, arrested and held in Peter and Paul Fortress
- 1910–1917Sentenced to Siberian exile for life; 1913 escape attempt failed 7 miles from Irkutsk; solitary confinement in Yakutsk; U.S. protests secured return to Irkutsk
- 1917Returned to Petrograd after February Revolution, welcomed by Kerensky; chaired Pre-Parliament as oldest member; opposed Bolshevik takeover, appealed for Czechoslovak Legion intervention
- 1918–1934Exiled via Vladivostok and Japan to U.S.; lobbied for White intervention; settled in Czechoslovakia via Paris; organized Carpatho-Russian Labor Party; died near Prague
Related historical events
Support for the Provisional Government and Anti-Bolshevik Activity in 1917–1918
In 1917, Breshkovsky served as an honorary member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party’s Central Committee and supported Alexander Kerensky and the Provisional Government. She advocated continuing Russia’s participation in the First World War, toured southern Russia to promote the Right SR position among peasants and soldiers, and supported the formation of women’s battalions. In Moscow she helped establish the Zemlia i Volia publishing house and remained involved in distributing party literature. The war question deepened the split between the party’s Left and Right wings; although she called publicly for unity, her position aligned her with the Right SRs.
After Kerensky became prime minister in July 1917, she briefly served as his adviser and took up residence in the Winter Palace. Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in October, she left the capital and spent about six months organizing opposition to the new government in and around Moscow. In spring 1918 she joined the anti-Bolshevik uprising of the Czechoslovak Legion on the Volga. When the uprising failed, she left Russia. In exile she sought funds in the United States for the anti-Bolshevik cause and schools for war orphans. From 1919 she lived among Russian émigrés in northern Czechoslovakia, where she administered schools and founded Russian-language schools for more than a decade.