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What Every Radical Should Know about State Repression: A Guide for Activists
This classic manual on repression by revolutionary activist Victor Serge offers fascinating anecdotes about the tactics of police provocateurs and an analysis of the documents of the Tsarist secret police in the aftermath of the Russian revolution.
With a new introduction by Howard Zinn collaborator, Anthony Arnove.
“Victor Serge is one of the unsung heroes of a corrupt century.” —Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost
As we approach the 100th anniversary of Victor Serge’s (1926) classic exposé of political repression, the specter of fear as a tool of political repression is chillingly familiar to us in world increasingly threatened by totalitarianism. Serge’s exposé of the surveillance methods used by the Czarist police reads like a spy thriller. An irrepressible rebel, Serge wrote this manual for political activists, describing the structures of state repression and how to dodge them—including how to avoid being followed, what to do if arrested, and tips on securing correspondence. He also explains how such repression is ultimately ineffective.
“Repression can really only live off fear. But is fear enough to remove need, thirst for justice, intelligence, reason, idealism…? Relying on intimidation, the reactionaries forget that they will cause more indignation, more hatred, more thirst for martyrdom, than real fear. They only intimidate the weak; they exasperate the best forces and temper the resolution of the strongest.” —Victor Serge
With a new introduction by Howard Zinn collaborator, Anthony Arnove.
“Victor Serge is one of the unsung heroes of a corrupt century.” —Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost
As we approach the 100th anniversary of Victor Serge’s (1926) classic exposé of political repression, the specter of fear as a tool of political repression is chillingly familiar to us in world increasingly threatened by totalitarianism. Serge’s exposé of the surveillance methods used by the Czarist police reads like a spy thriller. An irrepressible rebel, Serge wrote this manual for political activists, describing the structures of state repression and how to dodge them—including how to avoid being followed, what to do if arrested, and tips on securing correspondence. He also explains how such repression is ultimately ineffective.
“Repression can really only live off fear. But is fear enough to remove need, thirst for justice, intelligence, reason, idealism…? Relying on intimidation, the reactionaries forget that they will cause more indignation, more hatred, more thirst for martyrdom, than real fear. They only intimidate the weak; they exasperate the best forces and temper the resolution of the strongest.” —Victor Serge
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1925
14 people are currently reading
542 people want to read
About the author
Victor Serge
94books220followersVictor Lvovich Kibalchich (В.Л. Кибальчич) was born in exile in 1890 and died in exile in 1947. He is better known as Victor Serge, a Russian revolutionary and Francophone writer. Originally an anarchist, he joined the Bolsheviks five months after arriving in Petrograd in January 1919, and later worked for the newly founded Comintern as a journalist, editor and translator. He was openly critical of the Soviet regime, but remained loyal to the ideals of socialism until his death.
After time spent in France, Belgium, Russia and Spain, Serge was forced to live out the rest of his life in Mexico, with no country he could call home. Serge's health had been badly damaged by his periods of imprisonment in France and Russia, but he continued to write until he died of heart attack, in Mexico city on 17 November 1947. Having no nationality, no Mexican cemetery could legally take his body, so he was buried as a 'Spanish Republican.'
After time spent in France, Belgium, Russia and Spain, Serge was forced to live out the rest of his life in Mexico, with no country he could call home. Serge's health had been badly damaged by his periods of imprisonment in France and Russia, but he continued to write until he died of heart attack, in Mexico city on 17 November 1947. Having no nationality, no Mexican cemetery could legally take his body, so he was buried as a 'Spanish Republican.'
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 27, 2024
A very good, very readable republication which sadly doesn’t name its translator — a major oversight in my view. It should be noted that the last chapter’s thrust is “police and prisons are OK when they’re revolutionary police and prisons,” a position which did not age well, no matter how many otherwise right-thinking people still buy it. But the passion, wit, and rigor with which Serge presents his case, and the invaluable historical picture he paints in the process, are deeply worth the investment of time — and money; this is from Seven Stories Press, a publisher whose vital work merits support at every turn.
April 25, 2022
This book is often pitched as simple as its title suggests as lessons for how radicals can avoid police repression gleaned from Serge’s analysis of the documents of the Tsarist secret police in the aftermath of the Russian revolution. There is a lot of that—tips on how to avoid tails, don’t talk to cops, and some very fascinating anecdotes on police provocateurs in the revolutionary movement. However there is much more rich political analysis then how the book is billed. At its core there is a very nuanced approach to how the revolutionary’s approach to “legality” of struggle and towards the state dictates the important orientation of the legality of the state ALWAYs in the end being a material obstacle. Great read and under praised for its theoretical depth in such a slender book.
January 14, 2025
as always, serge is incredibly prescient and precise. outside of historical interest for avoiding surveillance in states with robust surveillance capabilities, particularly in imperial russia. most likely had applicability throughout the 20th century too. relevant for today’s radicals too! to know what we must do, we must look to our collective history. trace the path we’ve already trodden, so we know where we actually are.
November 2, 2021
This is actually quite a strange volume, if one takes a step back to reflect upon it. The first half is almost entirely about police infiltration of revolutionary activity and the use of informants and provocateurs. As a historical document it's interesting, but there are quite a few more relevant works when it comes to the specifics of such infiltration into social movements today (anything detailing the FBI's involvement in the movements of the 60s, for instance, or in contemporary circles of BLM or environmental activists). Given this, the introduction by ACLU Dalia Hashad feels a bit odd; it's written with a sense of urgency in the post 9/11 era, and details police abuse of everyday citizens, not political groups attempting to subvert the capitalist class and take over the state. Yes, both are examples of excessive policing, but how is Serge's discussion on setting up clandestine organizations to maintain the party apparatus after a "liquidation" by secret police relevant to families racially targeted while just going about their daily lives?
The second half of the book opens up a bit and seems like it could be of potential use, but it's also swimming in heavy communist party ideology. For instance:
“A communist party, even if it is weak in numbers, always, by virtue of its ideology, represents the proletarian class. It incarnates the class-consciousness of hundreds of thousands, or millions of people. Its role is immense, since it is the role of the brain and of the whole nervous system, albeit inseparable from the aspirations, needs and activity of the whole proletariat—so that within it the designs of individuals, when they are not in line with the needs of the party (that is, of the proletariat), lose much of their importance.
In this sense, the communist party is, among all the revolutionary organizations history has produced up to now, the least vulnerable to the blows of provocation.” (p.47)
My translation of a comment like this: "Even if we haven't managed to attract very many people, we represent them all anyhow because we have the right ideas, and the needs of our party are more important than the needs of individuals, both those in the party but also those outside of it that we represent even if they don't claim us, and because we're so top notch with our ideas and our dedication to them we can't be infiltrated by other groups including the police."
Sure, dude. Sure.
My recommendation: Read the Serge if you're a political history geek, but if you want something practical on handling state repression in the current era, go read some Edward Snowden.
The second half of the book opens up a bit and seems like it could be of potential use, but it's also swimming in heavy communist party ideology. For instance:
“A communist party, even if it is weak in numbers, always, by virtue of its ideology, represents the proletarian class. It incarnates the class-consciousness of hundreds of thousands, or millions of people. Its role is immense, since it is the role of the brain and of the whole nervous system, albeit inseparable from the aspirations, needs and activity of the whole proletariat—so that within it the designs of individuals, when they are not in line with the needs of the party (that is, of the proletariat), lose much of their importance.
In this sense, the communist party is, among all the revolutionary organizations history has produced up to now, the least vulnerable to the blows of provocation.” (p.47)
My translation of a comment like this: "Even if we haven't managed to attract very many people, we represent them all anyhow because we have the right ideas, and the needs of our party are more important than the needs of individuals, both those in the party but also those outside of it that we represent even if they don't claim us, and because we're so top notch with our ideas and our dedication to them we can't be infiltrated by other groups including the police."
Sure, dude. Sure.
My recommendation: Read the Serge if you're a political history geek, but if you want something practical on handling state repression in the current era, go read some Edward Snowden.
April 11, 2022
كتاب ممتع من تأليف الثوري الماركسي الروسي فيكتور سيرج يعرض فيه نهج الشرطة السياسية القيصرية "اوخرانا" في محاولات اختراق وتفكيك صفوف الثوريين الشيوعيين، بناءا على أرشيف هذا الجهاز البوليسي الذي وقع بين أيديه وأيدي زملائه الشيوعيين بعد انهيار النظام القيصري، هذه المنهجيات تعتبر من أساسيات عمل الشرطة السياسية (المباحث/الاستعلامات) إلى اليوم في كل الدول الاستبدادية وحتى الديمقراطية. تستعملها الدول للقضاء على كل تحرك شعبي
ضدها سواء كانت ثورات شعبية أو احتجاجات أو حتى إضرابات عمالية.
وقد اختبرنا بحكم نشاطنا في الحراك الشعبي في الجزائر على مدى الثلاث سنوات الماضية بعض هذه الأساليب الخبيثة.
الكتاب أيضا لا يخلو من الفلسفات والأفكار الشيوعية وكذا تحليلات الكاتب لوقائع تاريخية متعلقة بالثورات والصراع الطبقي في أوروبا.
للأسف لا توجد طبعة عربية لهذا الكتاب حتى الآن، وحتى إن وجدت مستقبلا فستكون ممنوعة في دولنا حتما
ضدها سواء كانت ثورات شعبية أو احتجاجات أو حتى إضرابات عمالية.
وقد اختبرنا بحكم نشاطنا في الحراك الشعبي في الجزائر على مدى الثلاث سنوات الماضية بعض هذه الأساليب الخبيثة.
الكتاب أيضا لا يخلو من الفلسفات والأفكار الشيوعية وكذا تحليلات الكاتب لوقائع تاريخية متعلقة بالثورات والصراع الطبقي في أوروبا.
للأسف لا توجد طبعة عربية لهذا الكتاب حتى الآن، وحتى إن وجدت مستقبلا فستكون ممنوعة في دولنا حتما
March 31, 2007
The best part is the practical steps to keep the state from following you down the street.
February 12, 2023
Really good short read. The text is divided in two main sections: the repressive apparatus of the state, and the criticism of repression after a revolution. Serge explains clearly the illusions that can be held in regard to them.
The tsarist state seemed to have known better what was going on inside the revolutionary organisations in Russia pre-revolution. Yet that could not save it for it was a dying system incapable of developing the means of production and reproduction of life. This whole section dispels effectively, based on real facts, the myth of the omnipotence of the state.
Rpression of the counter-revolutionaries by the majority after a revolution is always brought up to argue against revolution. There are also those who argue against violence in general. But as serge explains violence is a fact. Many suffer and die from the violence of capitalist economic laws. Today children go hungry and two centuries ago they were chained to machines in the early days of capitalism (while also going hungry). Today countless are killed in the capitalists' wars, and from the class war (according to a 2021 oxfam report every 4 seconds someone dies of poverty). And in the days of the establishment of capitalism tens of thousands were killed to maintain the system (1848 rebellions and the Paris Commune were drowned in blood). This violence is never brought up but the Russian Civil War, for example, will always be used as an example. Though those who bring it up won't mention the pogroms carried by the white armies.
A third theme in the text, supplemented by a short pamphlet that the Ligue Communiste in France published for its members after 1968, also adresses briefly how revolutionaries should act on front of the police and when arrested. In short: don't lie, don't cooperate.
I first learned about Serge's shortcomings and was ready to brush him off (maybe forever) but throughout this short text his dedication to the cause of the working class is palpable. He might have lost his ways at some point, but at the time of writing he was an ardent communist whose every word is charged with the depth of experience. For many of the revolutionaries who've came before it's important to be able to sift through their work and keep what's valuable. It's hard not to paint these comrades (also applies to James Cannon) as all black, specially when you first learn about their shortcomings, but seeing them in all their complexity is vital to be able to learn from their experience that they generously left in writing.
The tsarist state seemed to have known better what was going on inside the revolutionary organisations in Russia pre-revolution. Yet that could not save it for it was a dying system incapable of developing the means of production and reproduction of life. This whole section dispels effectively, based on real facts, the myth of the omnipotence of the state.
Rpression of the counter-revolutionaries by the majority after a revolution is always brought up to argue against revolution. There are also those who argue against violence in general. But as serge explains violence is a fact. Many suffer and die from the violence of capitalist economic laws. Today children go hungry and two centuries ago they were chained to machines in the early days of capitalism (while also going hungry). Today countless are killed in the capitalists' wars, and from the class war (according to a 2021 oxfam report every 4 seconds someone dies of poverty). And in the days of the establishment of capitalism tens of thousands were killed to maintain the system (1848 rebellions and the Paris Commune were drowned in blood). This violence is never brought up but the Russian Civil War, for example, will always be used as an example. Though those who bring it up won't mention the pogroms carried by the white armies.
A third theme in the text, supplemented by a short pamphlet that the Ligue Communiste in France published for its members after 1968, also adresses briefly how revolutionaries should act on front of the police and when arrested. In short: don't lie, don't cooperate.
I first learned about Serge's shortcomings and was ready to brush him off (maybe forever) but throughout this short text his dedication to the cause of the working class is palpable. He might have lost his ways at some point, but at the time of writing he was an ardent communist whose every word is charged with the depth of experience. For many of the revolutionaries who've came before it's important to be able to sift through their work and keep what's valuable. It's hard not to paint these comrades (also applies to James Cannon) as all black, specially when you first learn about their shortcomings, but seeing them in all their complexity is vital to be able to learn from their experience that they generously left in writing.
June 1, 2022
"Pero una sociedad que ya no reposa en ideas vivas, aquella en la cual los principios fundamentales están muertos, sobrevive, cuando mucho, por la fuerza de la inercia".
June 12, 2021
Lectura obligada (y nada desactualizada) para aquellas personas que necesiten hacerse una idea de la envergadura, importancia y limitaciones del poder policial. Tanto para el lector convencido en su izquierdismo, como para el lector mas equidistante en busca de puntos de vista que le acerquen a ciertas realidades.
El libro deja sobre la mesa una cantidad ingente de temas sobre la violencia, el control y el estado muy intensos, y plantea mucho debate en el seno de la izquierda extraparlamentaria de hasta que punto todo lo que se menciona sobre los años 20 sigue estando vigente.
Para el lector mas lejano a la izquierda, se puede tratar de un libro que le ayude a visualizar ciertos puntos de vista respecto a la policia y el poder, muy complicados de entender cuando no se tiene relación directa con la politica o los movimientos populares.
Para los mas convencidos, puede resultar ademas una obra optimista, que ayuda (sin maniqueos ni extremismos innecesarios) a echar luz sobre cuestiones éticas y morales que son origen de emociones muy poderosas y contradictorias para uno mismo en pleno siglo XXI.
El libro deja sobre la mesa una cantidad ingente de temas sobre la violencia, el control y el estado muy intensos, y plantea mucho debate en el seno de la izquierda extraparlamentaria de hasta que punto todo lo que se menciona sobre los años 20 sigue estando vigente.
Para el lector mas lejano a la izquierda, se puede tratar de un libro que le ayude a visualizar ciertos puntos de vista respecto a la policia y el poder, muy complicados de entender cuando no se tiene relación directa con la politica o los movimientos populares.
Para los mas convencidos, puede resultar ademas una obra optimista, que ayuda (sin maniqueos ni extremismos innecesarios) a echar luz sobre cuestiones éticas y morales que son origen de emociones muy poderosas y contradictorias para uno mismo en pleno siglo XXI.
December 1, 2024
A fascinating book written during the years between Soviet independence & just before Stalin’s consolidation of power. WWI hangs heavy in this account, symbolic of a pointless war grinding the working class in its maw. The revolutionary fervor that ends the book for the Soviet Republic will soon be dispelled in the 1930s.
Nonetheless, lots of great observations about state repression like its main aim being surveillance, not provocation. Living in the hellish repressive time in Florida, one can’t help but feel such observations more true than ever.
Nonetheless, lots of great observations about state repression like its main aim being surveillance, not provocation. Living in the hellish repressive time in Florida, one can’t help but feel such observations more true than ever.
January 3, 2025
Este un libro que verdaderamente todo revolucionario o activista debe leer para superar la ingenuidad y la inocencia de lo que implica un cambio revolucionario en la sociedad.
Cabe señalar que hacía el final de sus días -al oponerse a Stalin- Serge cambió algunas de sus ideas sobre el papel del partido y el Estado, lo que le ha valido el mote de anarquista aunque esto no es del todo preciso.
Cabe señalar que hacía el final de sus días -al oponerse a Stalin- Serge cambió algunas de sus ideas sobre el papel del partido y el Estado, lo que le ha valido el mote de anarquista aunque esto no es del todo preciso.
November 4, 2024
Es, efectivamente, un libro para revolucionarios y realmente imparte la información básica sobre esta faceta característica del estado en general y del capitalismo en particular: la represión policial.
September 5, 2023
Good book to imagine you are a political dissident in the early 20th century. Practical advice may not be as relevant now but still interesting nonetheless.
December 31, 2012
Amazing both how much and how little things change - many of the concepts expounded upon by Serge are at work today in our society. Merely the techniques are different.
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