# Mikhail Bakunin — Memoirs of a Revolutionist character guide

> Mikhail Bakunin in Memoirs of a Revolutionist by Peter Kropotkin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Bakúnin, X Bakúnin

**First appearance:** 0033-i

## Snapshot

The colossal, burning anarchist whose moral presence, more than his arguments, inspired the Jura comrades and drew Kropotkin toward anarchism.

## Who they are

Bakunin appears at Locarno and in the conversations of the Jura hills, a revolutionary who gave up everything for the cause and lived for it alone. What strikes Kropotkin is that his influence is felt less as intellectual authority than as moral personality — comrades speak of 'Michel' with love, not deference, and only once is his name invoked as an authority in itself. He matters because he crystallizes the anarchist alternative that Kropotkin will spend years thinking through, especially the fear of economic despotism.

## Relationships

### [Peter Kropotkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters/peter_kropotkin)

_friendship_

Bakunin was a leading anarchist thinker and mentor figure to Kropotkin, with mutual respect and shared ideology.

### [Peter Kropotkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters/peter_kropotkin)

_friendship_

Bakunin was a leading anarchist thinker and mentor figure to Kropotkin, with mutual respect and shared ideology.

## In the story

### [Part III: Siberia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/part-iii-siberia)

Mentioned as an influence on Kropotkin's developing anarchist ideas.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/ii)

Mentioned as an exile who discussed creating the United States of Siberia with young officers in Muravyov's study.

### [Part IV: St. Petersburg; First Journey to Western Europe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/part-iv-st-petersburg-first-journey-to-western-europe)

Anarchist thinker whose ideas deeply influence Kropotkin.

### [First Contact with the Jura Federation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned as a theoretical source of anarchist ideas in the Jura Federation.

### [The Nature of Revolution and the Influence of Bakunin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/x)

Kropotkin regrets not visiting Bakunin at Locarno; describes him as a powerful, inspiring figure who helped formulate anarchist ideas and created a centre of propaganda in the Jura hills.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xiv)

Influential anarchist whose voice inspired the Russian youth movement.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/i)

Mentioned as a former prisoner who survived the fortress, inspiring Kropotkin.

### [Part VI: Western Europe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/part-vi-western-europe)

Anarchist thinker whose ideas are discussed in relation to the Jura Federation.

### [The Jura Federation and the International](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/ii)

Intellectual leader of the Latin federations; his death in 1876 is noted, but his influence on the Jura Federation persists.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/iii)

Mentioned as a personal friend of many members of the Jura Federation, including Cafiero and Malatesta.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned as a predecessor who contributed to anarchist theory by criticizing institutions and building up while demolishing.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/chapters/xvii)

Cited as having foretold the rise of the military spirit in Europe after the Franco-Prussian War.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters/mikhail_bakunin
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/memoirs_of_a_revolutionist_se/characters