Â鶹APP

Alexander Herzen. Photo outsourced from

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Alexander Herzen

Herzen was born on 6 April 1812 in Moscow and out of wedlock to Ivan Yakovlev and Louisa Haag.

He was a Russian writer and thinker; he was commonly referred to father of socialism and the main father of agrarian populism.

Herzen contributed to the ideological basis for much of the revolutionary activity in Russia. He was so devoted to Russia’s liberty, which made him face injustice and even sent him to exile.

His writings influenced major reforms in Russia and led to the emancipation of the Russian in 1861.

Also, his writings are considered one of the best examples of that genre in Russian literature. Learn more about Alexandar Herzen in these top 10 amazing facts.

1. Herzen was an illegitimate son

He was born out of wedlock to a rich Russian landowner Ivan Yakovlev and a middle-class German woman Louisa Haag.

Herzen’s father met his mother in diplomatic service and brought her back to Russia on his return.

When he was three when the Decemberist rising took place, he was present at thanksgiving service in the Kremlinater the hangings. The scene made a lasting impression on him.

Herzen’s foreign tutors exposed him to radical ideas, and in his early teen, he dedicated himself to fighting for freedom.

2. He graduated from the University of Moscow

University of Moscow. Photo from

In 1829 Herzen joined the university of Moscow to study natural science and became a leader of a small group of like-minded students.

In the early 1830s in Moscow, among the educated elite’s young men and women, there were two related but distinct responses to Tsarist absolution. Both of them boosted the student body of the Moscow university.

3. He was a Russian writer

Herzen started his writing career in 1842. He was a prolific and varied writer and best described as a radical journalist and essayist.

His first publication was an essay on Dilettantism in science he wrote under the fictitious name Iskander, a Turkish Christian name.

He continued with his writing Which focused on influencing the situation in Russia at the time and advocated the improvement of the Russian peasantry situation he idolized.

Herzen composed many of his writing while in Alle in London and contributed greatly to the emancipation of serfs in 1861.

4. He was banished from Moscow

Ogarev and Herzen-Wikimedia Commons

In 1834, Herzen and his friend Nikolay Ogaver were arrested for attending a festival where verses by Sokolovsky that were uncomplimentary to the tsar were sung.

They were later tried and found guilty and, in 1835, banished to Vyatka, now Kirov in north-western European Russian.

Herzen stayed there until 1837, when the tsar’s son, grand duke Alexander accompanied by the poet Zhukovsky visited the city and intervened on his behalf.

He was then allowed to leave Vyatka for Vladimir, where he was appointed editor of the city’s official magazine. In 1840 he met literary critic Vissarian Belinsky who he strongly influenced.

5. Herzen was the founder of the free Russian press

Image by Kim Traynor-

He founded a free Russian press in London in 1853, where he tried to influence the situation in Russia and improve the situation of the Russian peasantry he idealized.

Herzen published a large number of Russian works all against the system of government prevailing in Russia, like baptized property (1853) that criticized serfdom.

His publication, The Bell journal publication acquired influence in Russian through illegal circulation in Russian territory. It is said the emperor himself read them.

After this publication, the Russian free press went for three years without selling a single copy in Russia, but the death of composer Nichola in 1855 led to complete change.

Now Herzen’s writing was smuggled into Russia, and their influence grew. Alexander II had ascended the throne, and reforms seemed possible this gave Herzen reason to be optimistic in 1855.

6. Russian radicals dislike Herzen

The radicals described him as too moderate. Radicals such as Nikola l Chevnyshevsky wanted more commitment to violent revolution and withdrew any hope in the reformist Tsar.

Herzen feared a new revolutionary government would merely replace the dictatorship with another dictatorship.

Radicals described him as liberal for not wanting immediate change, but Herzen rejected the pleas arguing for a pace change that would ensure success.

Herzen joined with other liberals such as Kavelin to promote unity in all sections of Russian society.

However, Herzen’s hopes were ended by the January uprising of 1863 and 1864, when the liberal support for Tsarist revenge against the poles ended Herzen’s link with them.

7. He fought for the emancipation of Russian serfs

Herzen influenced the situation in Russia through his writing, contributing to a political climate that led to the emancipation of serfs in 1861.

Herzen outspoke the views of the need to end serfdom due to the horrible sciences he saw them undergo at his father’s place.

He deeply sympathized with the peasant and became an advocate of social reforms. After the emancipation of serfs in 1861, he escalated his demands regarding constitutional rights, common ownership of land, and government by the people.

The emancipation gave serfs the right of free citizens, including to own property, own business, and marry without gaining consent.

8. Herzen invented populism

Image from

Populism was a distinctly Russian version of socialism based on the peasant community, making Herzen base his ideologies on Russian revolution activity.

Herzen’s ideas were mostly based on the welfare of the people of Russia, and he strongly rejected corruption in the Russian government and strongly supported individual rights.

When populism rose in 1880, Herzen changed his writing into a favorable revolution of his writings.

9. He was the father of socialism

Herzen often demanded that sweeping social and political changes be instituted in Russia for justice’s sake for all Russian people.

His impassioned advocacy of the peasant land commune as the foundation of the future society subsequently earned him the reputation as the father of socialism.

10. He performed political duties

Herzen was exiled six years to work in the provincial bureaucracy in Vyatka ( now Kirov) and Vladimir. For indiscreet secrete about the police, he spent two more years in Novgorod.