Activism · Philosophy · Politics · 1842–1921
Born: 9 December 1842 · Died: 8 February 1921 · Age at death: 78
Peter Kropotkin died aged 78. He was born on 9 December 1842 and died on 8 February 1921.
Russian prince turned anarchist thinker who wrote Mutual Aid, arguing that cooperation, not just competition, drives evolution
Did you know?He famously escaped from a military prison hospital in Saint Petersburg while a violinist played a coded signal to coordinate his getaway.
Peter Kropotkin was a Russian prince who became the world's best-known anarchist thinker. As a young officer in Siberia he explored and mapped vast areas of the region. Watching animals survive harsh winters, he concluded that cooperation matters as much as competition in evolution. He set out this idea in his book Mutual Aid. He was imprisoned in Russia and made a daring escape from a prison hospital in 1876. He spent decades in exile in Western Europe. Returning home in 1917, he opposed the Bolsheviks' growing dictatorship.
Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist political philosopher and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism.
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Profile
Russian anarchist and scientist, 1842–1921
Peter Kropotkin was born in Moscow on 9 December 1842 (27 November Old Style).
He explored Siberia in the 1860s.
He escaped from prison in 1876.
Mutual Aid appeared in 1902.
Career highlights
Did you know?His escape from a St Petersburg prison hospital in 1876 was daring and famous.
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