Feliks Volkhovsky

Who was Feliks Volkhovsky?

Feliks Vadimovich Volkhovsky was a Russian revolutionary, journalist and writer.

Volkhovsky became involved in radical student politics in St Petersburg in the 1860s. In 1867, he co-founded the 'One Rouble Society' with German Lopatin; it was dedicated to propaganda and educational work among the masses. After several arrests, Volkhovsky moved to Odessa in 1873, where he organised a circle affiliated with the Circle of Tchaikovsky. One of the members of Volkhovsky's Odessa group was Andrei Zhelyabov, later one of the principal organisers of the assassination of Tsar Alexander II.

Volkhovsky was arrested again in 1874 and was a defendant at the 1878 'Trial of the 193'. Banished to Siberia, he escaped in 1889 via America. Volkhovsky was involved in 'Land and Liberty' and, when that group split in 1879, in 'The People's Will'. After escaping from Siberia, he made his way to Western Europe, eventually settling in London. He worked for the Free Russian Press and was a close friend and collaborator of the revolutionary writer S.M. Stepniak-Kravchinsky. In fact, Stepniak was on his way to visit Volkhovsky when he was killed by a train in 1895. Volkhovsky thereafter took over Stepniak's editorial duties at the journal Free Russia.