Global Terrorism

Plotting against czarist rule nevertheless continued. There were many secret societies formed, both in Russia and abroad. The Russians gave them the general name of narodniks; in Western Europe, they were known as anarchists . Many of the bombers were connected to political parties, such as the Communist Party, which sought to overthrow the old order throughout Europe. Shortly after the czar’s assassination, an “anarchist conference” was held in London, at which the establishment of anAnarchist—or “Black”—International was announced. Anarchists were judged responsible for a dramatic number of bombings and other killings that took place well into the 20th century. On September 6, 1901, United States President William McKinley was shot dead by a young Hungarian, Leon Czolgocz. Congress at once passed legislation barring known anarchists—or anyone “who disbelieves in or is opposed to all organized government”— from entering the U.S. Gavrilo Princip, an anarchist, was responsible for initiating a series of events that led to World War I. Bosnian Serbs had been agitating for independence from the Austro-Hungar- ian empire, and in 1911, the secret organization Udejinjenje ili Smrt (Unity or Death) was formed; popularly, it was known as the “Black Hand.” Princip, trained by the Black Hand, shot Archduke Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo. Germany backed Aus- tro-Hungary in its retaliation on Serbia, and took advantage of the tense situation to attack both France and Russia a month later. Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and eventually the United States were among the countries drawn into the conflict—World War I—which lasted four years and killed millions.

A Cartoon Anarchist Despite the real threat they posed, the anarchists became a favorite target for humorists, as in this illustration from the French mag- azine Le Rire of 1903. As late as the 1930s, “Bombski,” in his black hat and long cloak, and holding a smoldering bomb, was a popular comic-strip character in a British newspaper.

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GLOBAL TERRORISM