In Russian and French Prisons

Book excerpt: First published in 1887, “In Russian and French Prisons” is Peter Kropotkin's detailed critique of French and Russian prisons in the late 19th century. Within it, Kropotkin offers poignant descriptions of the conditions of those who undergo solitary confinement while offering his own panacea to the wealth of problems engendered by the existence of prisons: abolish them entirely. Although written over a century ago, Kropotkin's astute criticisms of the penal system are still very much relevant today. Contents include: “My First acquaintance With Russian Prisons”, “Russian Prisons”, “He Fortress Of St. Peter And St. Paul”, “Outcast Russia”, “The Exile In Siberia”, “The Exile On Sakhali”, “A Foreigner On Russian Prisons”, etc. Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (1842–1921) was a Russian writer, activist, revolutionary, economist, scientist, sociologist, essayist, historian, researcher, political scientist, geographer, geographer, biologist, philosopher and advocate of anarcho-communism. He was a prolific writer, producing a large number of pamphlets and articles, the most notable being “The Conquest of Bread and Fields, Factories and Workshops” and “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution”. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with an excerpt from “Comrade Kropotkin” by Victor Robinson.