Mark Natanson
NATANSON, MARK (1849–1919), Russian revolutionary. Born in Svenziany, the son of a wealthy Jewish businessman, Natanson graduated from a Kovno secondary school. He was the leading figure of the "Chaikovski circle," which played a great part in molding the opposition spirit against the Czarist regime among the Russian university youth in the 1870s, and was prominent in the Populist movement ("narodniki"). A brilliant organizer, and possessed of considerable business abilities, he was responsible for many daring revolutionary undertakings. Together with his first wife, Olga – a highly intelligent person and a passionate believer in radical ideas – he masterminded Prince Peter Kropotkin's escape from prison. He was a close friend of Georgi Plekhanov, who later became
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.