Grave of Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin was a Russian revolutionary who became one of the foundational thinkers of anarchism. His writings on collectivist anarchism, advocating for the abolition of the state and collective ownership of the means of production, shaped anarchist movements across Europe and beyond. His conflict with Karl Marx within the First International (1864–1876) clarified the split between authoritarian and anti-authoritarian socialism, a division that continues to inform radical politics.
Bakunin spent his final years in Switzerland after a life of organizing, imprisonment, and exile. He participated in uprisings in Prague (1848), Dresden (1849), and Lyon (1870), was imprisoned in multiple countries, and escaped from Siberian exile in 1861. He died in Bern on July 1, 1876.
His funeral drew anarchists from across Switzerland. Eulogies were delivered by James Guillaume, Élisée Reclus, Adhémar Schwitzguébel, and others. In a gesture of solidarity, speakers from various socialist tendencies agreed to set aside factional disputes and unite “on the basis of liberty and mutual tolerance.”
The grave is located in Bremgartenfriedhof, Bern’s second-largest cemetery. In 2015, to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth, a new bronze portrait plaque by Swiss artist Daniel Garbade was installed—sponsored by the Dadaists of Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich. The plaque bears his words: “By striving to do the impossible, man has always achieved what is possible.”
The cemetery is open daily. Bakunin’s grave is in Sector C3, Grave 68.
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