On December 9, 1842, Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was born in Moscow, an outstanding Russian revolutionary, theorist of anarchism, and geographer.

The princely family of Kropotkins, known since the 15th century, was one of the side branches of the Rurik dynasty. Pyotr's father, Alexey Petrovich, was a major general and a large landowner, while his maternal grandfather, General N. S. Sulima, participated in the Patriotic War of 1812. Pyotr received his education at the 1st Moscow Gymnasium, after which he entered the Page Corps. In 1862, upon graduating from the corps, he became an officer and, at his own request, was assigned to the Amur Cossack cavalry. Soon, he became an official under the governor of Transbaikalia, B. K. Kukel, participating in geographical and ethnographic expeditions in Eastern Siberia, Transbaikalia, and Manchuria.

In 1867, Kropotkin left military service and enrolled in the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. During this time, he began working in the statistical committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs under P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Kropotkin became a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and met famous geographers and travelers. In 1872, while abroad, he joined the Jura Federation, the Swiss section of the First International, and after returning to Russia, he joined the 'Chaykovtsy' circle, participating in revolutionary agitation and the 'going to the people' movement in 1874.

In April 1875, Kropotkin delivered a report on the glacial epoch at the Russian Geographical Society, which caused a sensation. However, he was soon arrested for participating in the revolutionary movement and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. By the order of Alexander II, he was allowed to engage in scientific work in prison, which led to the creation of the book 'Research on the Glacial Period.' In the summer of 1876, while in a hospital, he escaped from Russia.

In the 1870s and 1880s, Kropotkin lived in Switzerland and France, actively participating in the socio-political movement in Europe. In 1886, he moved to England, where he fully formed his anarchist views, developing the ideas of Proudhon and Bakunin. He believed that social revolution should be a conscious action of the people, not a spontaneous uprising. After complete expropriation and the establishment of direct exchange, society should become a union of free communities based on mutual aid and solidarity.

In the early 1900s, Kropotkin participated in anarchist organizations, supported the first Russian revolution, and took a defensive position in World War I. After the February Revolution, he returned to Russia but refused to join the Provisional Government. He welcomed the October Revolution with enthusiasm, although he disagreed with some aspects of the Bolsheviks' policies, which he discussed in meetings with Lenin.

Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin passed away on February 8, 1921, in Dmitrov, Moscow Province, at the age of 78.