author
L. G. (Lev Grigor'evich) Deich
1855–1941
A veteran of the Russian revolutionary underground, he moved from populist activism to Marxism and later became known for vivid memoirs of prison, exile, and political struggle. His life stretches across decades of upheaval, from tsarist repression to the bitter splits of the socialist movement.
1 Audiobook
Sixteen years in Siberia: Some experiences of a Russian revolutionist
by L. G. (Lev Grigor'evich) Deich
About the author
Born in 1855 in Tulchin, in what is now Ukraine, Lev Grigor'evich Deich—also known as Leo Deutsch—became involved in radical politics as a young man. He first moved in populist circles, was arrested, escaped, and eventually joined other exiles in Switzerland.
Deich is best remembered as one of the founders of the Emancipation of Labour group, created in Geneva in 1883 with Georgi Plekhanov, Pavel Axelrod, and Vera Zasulich. That small circle played an important part in introducing Marxist ideas to Russian political life and helped lay groundwork for the movement that later became Russian Social Democracy.
He also spent years in prison and Siberian exile, experiences he later turned into memoir writing. Alongside his political work, he was active as a journalist, commentator, translator, and publicist, and he lived long enough to witness many of the upheavals he had struggled toward, dying in 1941.