Mikhail Aleksandrovich Bakunin

Born into a noble family in Premukhino, Russia, in 1814, Bakunin first trained for a military career before turning toward philosophy and radical politics. He spent much of his adult life in the political storms of Europe, taking part in the revolutionary movements of the 1840s and building a reputation as a powerful agitator and writer.

Bakunin is best known as a major early theorist of anarchism. He argued against the power of the state and became a leading advocate of collectivist anarchism, believing that ordinary people should organize themselves freely rather than be ruled from above. His bitter clashes with Karl Marx helped define a long-running split between anarchist and Marxist strands of socialism.

His dramatic life included arrest, imprisonment in Russia, years of exile, and later political organizing in Western Europe. He died in Bern, Switzerland, in 1876, but his writings and rebellious energy continued to influence anarchist and socialist movements long after his death.