When it comes to clandestine gatherings, the Illuminati and the Freemasons often hog the spotlight. Yet a trove of lesser‑known groups exists, each with its own quirky, sometimes macabre story. In this countdown we dive into 10 strange obscure societies that have operated in the shadows, revealing the eccentric rituals, daring politics, and downright terrifying customs that set them apart.

11 The Order Of Chaeronea

The ancient clash at Chaeronea in 338 B.C. marked the downfall of the Sacred Band of Thebes, an elite Greek unit famed for its 150 warriors and their male partners. Fast‑forward to 1899, and the name resurfaced in a very different context: the Order of Chaeronea, an English political club aimed at gay men seeking a safe space to correspond without fear of persecution.

Its founder, Cecil Ives, fashioned the organization like a genuine secret order, complete with rituals, passwords, and a strict code that barred members from turning the society into a venue for sexual rendezvous. The group attracted high‑profile gay intellectuals—Oscar Wilde is said to have been among them—and quickly spread worldwide, allowing Ives to champion gay rights through lectures and pamphlets. The order thus became a forerunner of 20th‑century LGBT activism.

After Ives passed away, the movement waned, only to experience a revival in the 1990s, particularly in the United States, where it inspired several offshoots and helped lay the groundwork for modern rights organizations.

10 The Knights Of The Apocalypse

Founded in 1693, this order claimed its purpose was to shield the Catholic Church from the looming arrival of the Antichrist. Its members were famed for odd customs—carrying swords to work and adorning their garments with an intricately drawn star on the breast.

The eccentricity can largely be traced back to its founder, Agostino Gabrino, a merchant’s son notorious for his erratic behavior. Gabrino once stormed two church masses brandishing a sword, declaring himself the “King Of Glory.” At the order’s inception, he proclaimed himself a “Monarch of the Holy Trinity” and instituted bizarre rules that encouraged polygamy and exclusive marriages to virgins.

Just a year after its formation, a disgruntled knight tipped off the Inquisition. The order was promptly disbanded, and its knights were incarcerated.

9 The Order Of The Occult Hand

The sole ambition of this quirky collective was to slip a single phrase—”it was as if an occult hand had”—into newspapers, magazines, and any printed medium they could get their hands on.

The scheme began when Joseph Flanders, a reporter for the Charlotte News, casually used the line in a story. His peers loved the phrasing so much that they plotted to replicate it wherever possible. Before long, journalists across the globe were peppering their copy with the same mysterious clause.

In 2004, Chicago Tribune reporter James Fanega traced the culprits and exposed the list of publications they had infiltrated. Undeterred, leader Paul Greenberg announced in 2006 that the group had adopted a new secret phrase, which, according to him, had already begun surfacing in major outlets. The new phrase remains undiscovered.

8 The Calves’ Head Club

In the aftermath of King Charles I’s execution in 1649, his opponents formed the Calves’ Head Club to mock the monarch’s memory. The group convened annually on January 30—the anniversary of the king’s beheading—and staged a grotesque banquet featuring a towering ceremonial axe.

The menu was a symbolic feast: calves’ heads represented the king’s royal office and supporters; a cod’s head symbolized the king himself; and a massive pike and boar’s head, each stuffed with a smaller pike and an apple, stood for the king’s tyranny. Members sang an anthem lauding the king’s death, toasted with wine poured from calf‑skull cups, and burned a copy of the king’s autobiography while swearing by John Milton’s treatise that justified the execution—Milton himself is alleged to have founded the club.

When the monarchy was restored in 1660, the club was forced underground. Its final demise came in February 1735 when a mob stormed a meeting and nearly lynched several members.

7 The Arioi

The Arioi was a secret society that flourished in Tahiti long before European explorers set foot on the islands. Devoted to the worship of the deity Oro, the group roamed the islands seeking fresh recruits.

To draw in applicants, members performed elaborate ritual dances. While anyone could request entry, only the most strikingly handsome and beautiful were ultimately chosen, as the society equated physical allure with spiritual potency.

Initiates were required to memorize the intricate rituals perfectly; any lapse meant instant ridicule. The Arioi also embraced a libertine lifestyle, evident in sexually charged ceremonies that horrified Christian missionaries, who described them as “privileged libertines who engaged in abominable, unutterable, and obscene exhibitions.”

Perhaps the most chilling rule was the prohibition on childbirth. Children were deemed a distraction, so members routinely aborted unborn babies and killed infants. Those whose children survived faced demotion within the order.

Christian proselytizing eventually extinguished the Arioi by the 19th century.

6 The Scotch Cattle

In the 1820s, Welsh miners, fed up with exploitative working conditions, organized a covert union dubbed the Scotch Cattle—named after the fierce Highland breed. Each mining town housed its own chapter, led by a figure known as “the Bull,” and members used intimidation and direct action against those they deemed adversaries.

The group typically issued a warning letter first. Ignored, they would appear at midnight, faces blackened and cloaked in cowskins, to ransack the target’s home, sometimes beating the victim and always painting a red bull’s head on the front door before vanishing.

The Scotch Cattle remained active until the 1840s, when more organized trade unions emerged and supplanted their tactics.

5 The Order Of The Peacock Angel

Emerging in Britain during the 1960s, this secret society drew inspiration from the ancient Yezidi faith—a belief system often mischaracterized as devil worship by surrounding religions. Members venerated Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, represented either by a stone statue or a live peacock.

Adherents hold that the Peacock Angel can answer prayers, so they convene in a hall filled with sacred images of the deity. The altar, placed at the center, bears the primary symbol of reverence. During meetings, members perform a slow, ceremonial dance around the altar, gradually intensifying until it erupts into a frenzied, ecstatic climax, leaving participants convinced they have absorbed the Angel’s divine power.

The society’s rituals, steeped in mysticism, continue to attract those fascinated by the enigmatic Yezidi tradition.

4 The Leopard Society

Although it had adherents in East Africa, the Leopard Society reached its zenith in West African nations such as Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Members engaged in ritual human sacrifice and cannibalism, donning leopard skins and wielding metal claws and teeth to ambush unsuspecting victims.

After slaying a victim, the leopard‑man would collect the blood and brew a potion he believed would grant supernatural abilities. Following World I, colonial authorities believed they had quelled the cult, but it resurfaced after World II, claiming over 40 lives. Locals, convinced of the leopard‑men’s invulnerability, refused to cooperate with investigators.

Only after authorities killed a member in 1948 did witnesses come forward. This breakthrough enabled police to locate the cult’s hideout, imprison 34 members, and hang another 39. To prove the members were merely human, colonial officials allowed local chiefs to witness the executions.

3 The Bald Knobbers

In the chaotic post‑Civil War era of southwest Missouri, a secret vigilante group called the Bald Knobbers sprang up to combat rampant crime. Their founder, hulking veteran Nat Kinney, led the organization, which met atop bare mountaintops—hence the nickname.

Members wore their coats backward and sported odd horned masks, employing brutal tactics such as whipping, beating, and even murder of suspected criminals. Over time, some Bald Knobbers began to exploit the group to protect their own illicit activities.

Their notoriety peaked in 1887 when two critics were slain and their families injured. Authorities arrested twenty members and executed four. A year later, Kinney—who had already left the group—was killed by an opponent. Minor skirmishes persisted, but by 1889 the Bald Knobbers had effectively dissolved.

2 The Secte Rouge

According to African‑American author Zora Neale Hurston, who explored Haiti in the 1930s, the Secte Rouge—also known as Cochon Gris or Vinbrindingue—was a secret society infamous for ritual cannibalism and grave robbing. Although Hurston never witnessed the cult firsthand, she recounted three indirect encounters.

The first occurred in 1936 when she heard eerie drums beating late at night. When she tried to investigate, her house girl warned her to stay inside, fearing the cult’s wrath. The second encounter involved a man burning rubber tires near her home; he explained the smoke was meant to deter the cult from abducting his child. Finally, she observed militiamen conducting a covert operation against an unknown group in a remote part of the island.

Combined with local testimonies swearing to the cult’s existence, Hurston painted a portrait of a murderous sect that convened at night in cemeteries, performing macabre rituals that included waylaying travelers for human sacrifice.

1 The Skoptsy

In a bizarre twist of religious fervor, Russia’s Skoptsy practiced self‑castration, believing that removal of genitals and breasts would return humanity to a pre‑Fall state. The sect was founded in the mid‑18th century by two peasants, Andrei Ivanov and Kondratii Selivanov, who argued that Adam and Eve’s disobedience introduced these organs, so they must be excised for salvation.

Shortly after its inception, authorities arrested the two founders and exiled them to Siberia. Selivanov escaped, made his way to St. Petersburg, and proclaimed himself the Messiah, claiming to be the reincarnation of Tsar Peter III. His charismatic preaching attracted a sizable following and drew renewed scrutiny from the state, which repeatedly detained him until he was finally locked away in a monastery.

Even after Selivanov’s death, the Skoptsy continued to expand. At its height, estimates suggest the sect numbered over 100,000 members, including individuals from the Russian elite. The Communist Revolution dramatically curtailed its numbers, and today only about a hundred adherents remain, primarily clustered in the sect’s original birthplace.

Marc V. remains open to conversation, so feel free to reach out if curiosity strikes.

The tale of 10 secret societies reads like a thriller, yet these covert groups have quietly engineered the world we live in today. From revolutionary conspiracies in Europe to hidden cabals in the Pacific, each organization left an indelible mark on history.

Why 10 Secret Societies Matter

10 The Carbonari

When Napoleon finally fell in 1814, the great powers gathered at the Congress of Vienna to redraw Europe’s map. Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria carved up the former French Empire, and Italy emerged as a patchwork of tiny states. Austria claimed the northern slice, while the rest splintered into a handful of principalities and kingdoms.

Amid the post‑Napoleonic chaos the Carbonari sprang up, though historians still debate exactly where they originated. Their devotion to secrecy was genuine: they mimicked Masonic rituals, symbols and hierarchies, and some scholars think they were imported from France, while others argue they evolved from home‑grown Freemasonry. At their peak the Carbonari boasted roughly 60,000 members, making them the largest clandestine network on the Italian peninsula. Their original aim wasn’t Italian unification, but their actions set the revolutionary wheels in motion.

The biggest pre‑unification realm was the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by King Ferdinand, essentially an Austrian puppet. In 1820 the Carbonari sparked a revolt that forced Ferdinand to grant a constitution. Austria swiftly intervened, marched into Naples and tore the charter up, but the uprising ignited a continent‑wide push for Italian unity that eventually succeeded in 1861.

9 La Trinitaria

The Dominican Republic owes its birth to a secret brotherhood called La Trinitaria, founded in July 1838. After Haiti annexed the whole island of Hispaniola in 1822, the Spanish‑speaking western half grew restless under French‑speaking rule. A charismatic 25‑year‑old named Juan Pablo Duarte rallied a handful of friends to launch a nationalist movement.

Duarte and his eight comrades crafted La Trinitaria to educate the populace and spread a fierce love for a sovereign nation. He even invented a cryptic alphabet for covert messages. Members adopted pseudonyms and operated in three‑person cells, while also liaising with eastern rebels who shared anti‑Haitian sentiments.

In 1843 the society attempted a revolt that ended in failure, leading to arrests and Duarte’s flight to Venezuela. Nonetheless, the groundwork had been laid. A second uprising in 1844 succeeded, and on February 27 1844 the Dominican Republic declared independence. Duarte returned to assume the presidency, only to be ousted by a military coup before taking office.

Exiled from the nation he helped create, Duarte spent his final years abroad and died in 1864, far from the island that bore his legacy.

8 Afrikaner Broederbond

The Afrikaner Broederbond was founded in 1918 as an exclusive club for white men over 25, with the explicit goal of dominating South Africa’s cultural, economic and political spheres. Its members operated behind a veil of secrecy, leaving historians with only fragments of their inner workings.

During the 1930s the Broederbond championed Afrikaner nationalism, eventually infiltrating the Reunited National Party so thoroughly that the prime minister once described the party as “nothing more than the secret Afrikaner Broederbond operating in public.” By 1947 the group controlled the Bureau of Racial Affairs and helped devise the apartheid system, the most infamous segregation policy of the last six decades.

The organization’s grip was so tight that a 1978 writer proclaimed, “The South African government today is the Broederbond and the Broederbond is the government.” Its roster included 143 military officers and every prime minister and president from 1948 until Nelson Mandela’s historic election in 1994.

In the post‑apartheid era the Broederbond rebranded as the Afrikanerbond, launched a public website and opened its doors to anyone regardless of race, gender or religion, claiming to pursue a better life for all African citizens.

7 Filiki Etaireia

The Filiki Etaireia, or “Friendly Brotherhood,” sounds gentle, but its mission was anything but. In 1821 the society ignited the Greek War of Independence, a conflict that lasted eleven years and ultimately birthed the modern Greek state.

In 1814 two merchants, Nikalaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, drafted a secret plan to overthrow Ottoman rule. They modeled the group on Freemasonry, complete with four membership levels, a supreme council, secret identities and elaborate initiation rites. Initially they recruited only about thirty men in two years.

One of their most zealous recruits, Nikolaos Galatis, claimed kinship with Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Greek ambassador to Russia. Kapodistrias advised Galatis to keep quiet, warning that reckless agitation could doom the entire Greek cause. Galatis ignored the warning, blabbing to Russian police, the Czar and even the Ottoman spies. His indiscretion eventually led the Brotherhood to have him eliminated for breaking their code of secrecy.

By 1819 the Filiki Etaireia expanded to six levels, rewarding higher ranks with increasingly complex rituals, donations and secret signs. The lowest “brothers” were unskilled laborers; the upper echelons bore titles such as “Referenced One,” “Priest,” and at the summit, “Shepherd.”

Realizing they could not keep the conspiracy forever, the leaders searched for a charismatic figure to lead an uprising. Kapodistrias again declined, deeming the venture foolhardy. The Brotherhood then turned to Russian officer Alexander Ypsilantis, who agreed to spearhead the revolt.

In the spring of 1821 the Greek Revolution erupted. Though the Filiki Etaireia dissolved as open warfare began, the rebellion succeeded, and Greece secured its independence.

The first head of the new Greek state, Ioannis Kapodistrias, later became celebrated as the nation’s founding father—a twist of fate given his earlier refusal to join the Brotherhood’s plot.

6 The Germanenorden

The Germanenorden emerged in the early 19th century, branding itself as a guardian of Aryan purity. By 1916 the group had adopted the swastika and cultivated a virulent anti‑Jewish, anti‑Freemason stance.

Founded in 1812, the order staged theatrical initiations featuring knights, kings, bards and even forest nymphs. Prospective members were forced to produce several generations of birth certificates to prove “pure” Aryan lineage.

In 1918 the Germanenorden transformed into the Thule Society under Rudolf von Sebottendorff. Its covert activities in 1919 helped crush communist uprisings, and the group later morphed into the German Workers’ Party. When Adolf Hitler seized control in 1920, he stripped away the occult trappings he found distasteful but retained the organization’s core nationalist agenda.

5 The Black Hand

Unification or Death—better known as the Black Hand—was founded on May 9 1911 in Serbia with the explicit purpose of ending Ottoman domination. Within a few years the secretive cadre grew to roughly 2,500 members, led by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, nicknamed “Apis” after the ancient Egyptian bull deity.

Members swore an oath that placed the organization’s secrecy above their own lives, promising to carry out every command without question and to take all secrets to the grave.

The Black Hand operated in tiny cells of three to five individuals. Lower‑level operatives only knew their immediate contacts, ensuring that even if a cell were compromised, the larger network remained intact.

In 1914 Apis devised a plot to assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The successful killing set off a chain reaction that plunged Europe into the deadliest war the continent had ever seen.

4 Katipunan

The Katipunan, short for Kataastaasan Kagalang‑galang Na Katipunan Nang Manga Anak Nang Bayan, translates to “Supreme Worshipful Association of the Sons of the People.” Formed in the Philippines in 1892, its founders were all Freemasons, and they borrowed Masonic rituals, secret passwords and male‑only membership rules.

What set the Katipunan apart was its dramatic use of blood. Members signed every document—including the founding charter on July 7 1892—with their own blood, a practice that now fetches collectors a few hundred dollars for original oath letters.

The society swelled to tens of thousands while staying hidden from the Spanish colonial authorities. The veil lifted in 1896 when a printing‑shop worker confided in his sister; the secret spread to a nun, then a priest, and finally the Spanish police who raided the shop.

On March 22 1897 the Katipunan abandoned secrecy altogether, confident that its massive underground network could launch an open rebellion. The Philippine Revolutionary Army drove out the Spanish, proclaiming independence on June 12 1898.

The United States, fresh from its own anti‑colonial war, refused to recognize the new nation and instead annexed the Philippines, ruling them for half a century. Nevertheless, June 12 remains a celebrated Philippine Independence Day.

3 Irish Republican Brotherhood

In the 19th century, Irish nationalists called Fenians organized abroad and at home. The Irish branch, founded by James Stephens, emerged after a failed 1848 uprising forced Stephens to flee to Paris, where he met fellow exile John O’Mahony.

Both men became entangled in Louis‑Napoleon’s 1851 coup d’état and joined a secret society modeled on Masonic structures. Stephens later studied continental secret societies, especially the Carbonari, and used those insights to shape the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, later renamed the Irish Republican Brotherhood.

O’Mahony crossed the Atlantic and set up the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States. By 1858 Stephens secured £80 from O’Mahony and, with a small group, swore an oath in his Dublin lodgings, formally establishing the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood.

The IRB built a global network of “circles” with a strict hierarchy: a colonel recruited nine captains; each captain recruited nine sergeants; each sergeant recruited nine privates. Members only knew their direct superior, preserving secrecy.

Thomas Clarke took the reins in 1910, boosting recruitment among young Irishmen. In May 1915 he formed a seven‑member military council that orchestrated the Easter Rising of 1916. Although the rebellion was suppressed, the IRB’s influence persisted, feeding into the Anglo‑Irish War that eventually produced the Irish Free State in 1921.

2 The Union Of Salvation

The Russian Empire’s downfall in 1917 traced its roots back to the Decembrist Uprising of 1825, when roughly 3,000 rebel troops attempted to seize the Winter Palace and depose Czar Nicholas I on his first day in power. Though crushed, the revolt forced Nicholas to establish a secret police network, tighten press censorship and abolish regional autonomy in places like Poland.

The uprising was orchestrated by the Union of Salvation, a modest secret society founded by six military officers who met in private homes. They drafted a constitution in 1817 that formalized initiation rites and created four membership tiers. Only the highest echelons—the founding “Boyars” and the veteran “Elders”—knew the group’s true objectives; lower‑rank “Brethren” pledged loyalty without full knowledge, while “Friends” lingered on the periphery awaiting admission.

Later rebranded as the Union of Welfare, the organization assumed a more public, philanthropic face. In 1821, radical member Pavel Pestel pushed the group toward a more aggressive stance, causing a split into northern and southern factions, with Pestel heading the latter.

Pestel leveraged the society’s influence to devise a plan for a rebellion timed to the Czar’s death, hoping to prevent his heir from inheriting the throne. Unfortunately, his influence proved insufficient, and the poorly coordinated revolt failed, leaving the empire even less free.

1 The Hawaiian League

The Kingdom of Hawaii sprang to life in the early 19th century but vanished in less than a hundred years, largely due to a clandestine group known as the Hawaiian League. Comprising roughly 200 affluent Americans and Europeans, the League grew discontented with King Kalākaua’s lavish spending and, more crucially, his erosion of their economic dominance.

In early 1887 the League drafted a secret constitution—no copies survive—crafted by Lorrin A. Thurston. Within a year the group swelled to 405 members, though internal debates raged over whether to push for U.S. annexation or an independent republic. Regardless of the end goal, every member agreed on one thing: the monarchy must fall.

The League’s most potent ally was the Honolulu Rifles, a paramilitary militia. In 1893 they seized power, forcing Queen Liliʻuokalani—who had ascended the throne just two years earlier—to relinquish authority. Hawaii briefly became a republic before the United States annexed it in 1898, eventually granting statehood in 1959.

If you’re part of a secret society, Alan would love to hear about it on Twitter.

Ever since recorded time, secret societies have fascinated and frightened us. Mystery runs in their veins, making them prime material for conspiracy theorists and students seeking tidy explanations for history’s catastrophes. Yet these clandestine groups truly left their fingerprints on the world, and the echoes of their doctrines and deeds still reverberate today. Welcome to our deep‑dive into the ten most influential secret societies.

10 Secret Societies Overview

10. The Secret Six

Because the takedown of Al Capone was one of the flashiest chapters in American law‑enforcement lore, everyone scrambled to claim credit. From Iowan lawyer George E.Q. Johnson to the dashing G‑man Eliot Ness, each tried to paint themselves as the driving force behind the Chicago mob’s collapse. Yet a low‑key coalition of businessmen kept their anti‑Capone crusade under wraps. Known as the Secret Six, they were a cadre of Chicago investors who wanted a cleaner city for pure economic gain—after all, a gangster‑ridden Chicago scared tourists away.

Formed in October 1930 as the Citizens’ Committee for the Prevention and Punishment of Crime, the Secret Six counted federal agent Alexander Jamie—Ness’s brother‑in‑law and staunch ally—among its ranks. With Jamie’s endorsement, a relatively untested Ness was handed the reins of the case that aimed to nail Capone on Prohibition‑related violations of the Volstead Act.

Following his triumph in Chicago, Ness carried the Secret Six concept to Cleveland, deploying the same covert strategy to combat organized crime there.

9. Secret Germany

Interwar Germany simmered with unrest. Burdened by a sluggish economy and shackled by the punitive Versailles Treaty that blamed Germany for igniting World War I, the Weimar Republic’s citizens vented their fury through politics. While communists, nationalists, and centrists clashed in the streets, a quieter circle gathered in pubs to discuss philosophy. This enclave, loosely dubbed Secret Germany, rallied around poet‑messiah Stefan George.

George, affectionately called “The Master” by his disciples, crafted some of the German language’s finest poetry (1868‑1933) and authored The New Empire, outlining a “spiritual aristocracy” that updated the enlightened‑despot ideal. His vision of war‑hungry, transcendental dictators blended political ambition with mystic aspiration.

Although the Nazis later co‑opted portions of George’s work, many members of Secret Germany turned into key figures of the German Resistance, most famously Claus von Stauffenberg, the officer who attempted to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944.

8. The UR Group

When most think of fascism, images of brown‑shirted Nazis marching through Berlin flood the mind, yet the ideology first sprouted in Italy during the early 1920s. Before it coalesced into a political movement, fascism was a fragmented debate among right‑wing intellectuals. One such figure was Julius Evola, a Sicilian nobleman, occultist, and student of esotericism, who saw fascism as a reactionary antidote to the modern world—what he called the Hindu Dark Age, or Kali Yuga.

To embody his brand of mystical fascism, Evola founded the UR Group in 1927. This society gathered Italian thinkers devoted to magic, Nietzsche’s “will to power,” and Hermeticism. Because Evola’s ideas were elitist and anti‑modern, the UR Group attracted few followers, even within Mussolini’s National Fascist Party. Nonetheless, despite Evola’s critiques of Mussolini, the UR Group remained an intellectual pillar of right‑wing radicalism throughout World War II and continues to influence certain far‑right circles today.

7. Galleanists

Terrorism isn’t a 21st‑century invention; the United States had already grappled with it long before September 11. In the early 1900s, the U.S. and Europe fought a “First War on Terror” aimed at curbing communists, socialists, and anarchists who challenged capitalism. While many radicals settled for strikes, a faction embraced “propaganda of the deed”—a doctrine championed by illegalist anarchism that glorified violent action.

Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani’s followers, known as the Galleanists, headquartered in Boston, carried out a string of bombings across the United States during the 1919 “Red Summer.” One member is also suspected of the still‑unsolved Wall Street bombing of 1920, cementing their reputation as a dangerous, clandestine force.

6. The Bonnet Gang

Unlike many entries on this list, the Bonnet Gang straddles the line between secret society and outright criminal enterprise. Operating in France between 1911 and 1912, the group—also called the “Auto Bandits”—made history as the first outfit to employ a getaway car after a daring robbery of a Société Générale branch in Paris.

Their arsenal was ahead of its time, featuring semi‑automatic pistols and repeating rifles. Led by Jules Bonnot, the flamboyant “Demon Chauffeur,” the gang also courted the press, marching into the offices of La Petit Parisien for a self‑serving interview.

Driven by the illegalist philosophy, the Bonnet Gang’s crusade against capitalism ended by spring 1912: after a series of gun battles that even involved the French army, most members were dead or imprisoned. Their legacy, however, may have inspired the silent‑film series Les Vampires, which portrayed a shadowy criminal cabal.

5. Young Bosnia

Before the Balkan wars of the 1990s, the region was already a powder keg of ethnic and religious tension. Bosnia, a mosaic of Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, sat at the crossroads of great‑power ambitions. After Austria‑Hungary’s 1878 occupation, nationalist fervor surged, especially as the Serbian “Black Hand” funded pro‑Serbian and pan‑Slav movements.

One such group, Young Bosnia, assembled a heterogeneous mix of Bosnian Serb, Croat, and Muslim revolutionaries. Inspired by the writings of Vladimir Gacinovic and working alongside the Black Hand, they sought to throw off Austrian rule. Their most infamous act came when member Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, an event that sparked World War I.

4. The Guido Von List Society

Before the Nazis seized power, Imperial Austria served as a hotbed where racial nationalism, occultism, and anti‑Semitism collided. Guido von List, a Viennese journalist, poet, and occult enthusiast, devoted himself to the study of ancient runes used by pre‑Christian Germanic peoples.

Although List was something of a charlatan who self‑styled “von,” his brand of esoteric Austro‑German nationalism—known as Ariosophy—quickly attracted Vienna’s elite. Founded in 1905, the Guido von List Society counted industrialist Friedrich Wannieck, anti‑Semite Karl Lueger (leader of the Christian Social Party), and even the mayor of Vienna among its members. The group adopted symbols like the swastika and a distinctive Heil salute, sowing seeds that later blossomed into National Socialism’s theatricality and iconography.

3. Thuggees

Derived from a Sanskrit term meaning “concealment,” the Thuggees of India gave English the word “thug.” Far more sinister than ordinary highwaymen, these cultic murderers masqueraded as pilgrims, preying on unsuspecting travelers across the subcontinent.

British administrators in the early 19th century uncovered mass graves where victims lay strangled with a yellow sash called a rumal, a ritual sacrifice to the goddess Kali. Unlike European bandits who killed for profit, the Thuggees acted as religious zealots, offering each murder as a bloodless offering. Their reign ended only after Lord William Bentinck, the governor‑general of India, orchestrated a massive crackdown that imprisoned thousands.

2. The Cathars

During the 13th century, the Albigensian Crusade—led by Pope Innocent III—sought to eradicate the Cathars, a heretical Christian sect thriving in the mountains of southern France. The Cathars adhered to Dualism, believing in a good god and an evil god, and drew inspiration from earlier movements like Bogomilism and Manichaeism.

Rejecting the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy, they refused to worship in cathedrals and championed gender equality, allowing women to hold important religious roles. The crusade ultimately crushed the Cathars; by 1229, survivors either converted under Inquisition pressure or fled underground. Centuries later, conspiracy theorists romanticized the Cathars as Guardians of the Holy Grail.

1. The Eleusinian Mysteries

The Sacred Way, stretching from Athens to the holy city of Eleusis, earned fame as the best‑maintained road in ancient Greece. Its pristine condition owed to the annual pilgrimage of initiates to the Eleusinian Mysteries, a secretive religious ceremony retelling Demeter’s loss of her daughter Persephone to Hades.

Details of the rites remain scarce because participants who spoke of them were often silenced by fellow initiates. While modern imagination paints the mysteries as an orgiastic affair involving psychoactive drinks like kykeon, the ceremonies endured almost two millennia, arguably representing the pinnacle of ancient Greek spirituality.

Benjamin Welton, a freelance journalist based in New England, has contributed to The Atlantic, Crime Factory, The Airship Daily, and The Classical. He currently blogs at literarytrebuchet.blogspot.com.

The fact that 10 societies recognize more than two genders underscores that gender plurality has deep roots in human history, not just a contemporary buzzword. Across continents, many nations have enacted laws that officially acknowledge a third—or even additional—gender categories, while others have long‑standing cultural practices that honor non‑binary identities without any legal paperwork. Some of these societies only grant recognition when a person is born with intersex traits that defy the classic male/female binary, whereas others embrace self‑identified gender expressions that differ from the sex assigned at birth.

10 The Hijra Of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, And Nepal

Hijras are individuals assigned male at birth who live as women, adopting feminine attire, makeup, and social roles. In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal, the state officially lists them as a third gender, though many Hijras prefer to be identified simply as women rather than a separate category.

Historical records trace Hijras back thousands of years in the Indian subcontinent, even appearing in sacred Hindu scriptures. Their status took a dark turn during British colonial rule when, in 1897, they were criminalized under the Criminal Tribes Act, pushing many into clandestine communities led by a senior figure often referred to as the “mother.”

Post‑colonial India saw the continuation of systemic discrimination: medical professionals sometimes refused treatment, police harassment was commonplace, and employers shied away from hiring Hijras. These pressures propelled many into precarious livelihoods, including sex work.

Health‑wise, Hijras face a disproportionate HIV burden. In Mumbai, roughly 18 % of Hijras test positive for HIV, a stark contrast to the national prevalence of about 0.3 %.

9 The Muxes Of Mexico

The Zapotec community of Oaxaca acknowledges a third gender known as muxes. While many muxes are men who embody feminine traits, there is no strict definition, leaving each individual to self‑determine their status.

The term “muxes” derives from the Spanish word “mujer” meaning woman, yet muxes reject being labeled as women. They also distance themselves from categories such as gay, transgender, or bisexual.

Language adds another layer of complexity: Zapotec is gender‑neutral, which can cause confusion for outsiders translating muxe narratives into gendered languages, especially when deciding whether to use “he” or “she.”

In Oaxaca, muxes are celebrated with a three‑day festival called Vela de las Intrepidas (Vigil of the Intrepids). However, they sometimes encounter resistance elsewhere in Mexico, particularly regarding access to women’s restrooms.

8 The Xaniths Of Oman

In Oman, the term xanith describes a male who adopts feminine behaviors, such as wearing makeup and styling hair with oil. Their presence is tolerated within the predominantly Islamic society because it is believed their effeminate demeanor is innate rather than a deliberate choice.

Nevertheless, xaniths strive to set themselves apart from women. Men traditionally wear plain white tunics, women favor brightly patterned garments, while xaniths opt for solid‑colored tunics. Their hair length sits between the short cuts of men and the longer styles of women.

Hair‑combing styles also differ: men comb forward‑to‑back, women back‑to‑forward, while xaniths comb their hair diagonally. Some xaniths engage in sexual relations with men, though marriage to a woman or reaching old age typically reverts them to a male social role.

7 The Bugis Tribe Of Indonesia Recognizes Five Genders

The Bugis of Sulawesi identify five gender categories: oroane (masculine men), makkunrai (feminine women), calabai (masculine individuals who adopt feminine roles), calalai (feminine individuals who take on masculine roles), and bissu (beings embodying both male and female essences).

Calabai are biologically male but live as women; they typically reject being called women. Conversely, calalai are biologically female who assume male attire, mannerisms, and occupations.

The bissu occupy a liminal space, neither wholly male nor female. They don both masculine and feminine clothing and are thought to possess a blend of human and divine qualities, sometimes believed to be the first entities on Earth.

Becoming a bissu can occur in two ways: through hermaphroditism (having both reproductive systems) or by possessing the soul of the opposite sex. This fluidity can also allow calalai or calabai to transition into a bissu role.

6 The Two‑Spirit People Of North America

“Two‑spirit” serves as an umbrella term for Indigenous North Americans who embody both masculine and feminine qualities, or who possess gender expressions that differ from their birth‑sex assignment. These individuals often fulfill roles associated with both genders and are traditionally viewed as bearers of good fortune.

Within many tribes, a male‑identified person who takes on female roles marries a woman, while a female‑identified person who assumes male roles marries a man. Early European colonizers labeled such individuals as “berdaches,” a term that carried a stigma of homosexuality.

Missionary activity in the early 20th century intensified persecution, leading many two‑spirit people to suffer severe mental health crises, including suicide. The 1960s saw a resurgence of pride as Indigenous activists reclaimed the term “two‑spirit” to replace the pejorative “berdache.”

5 The Six Genders Of Classical Judaism

Classical Jewish law recognized six distinct gender categories: zachar (male), nekeivah (female), androgynos (half‑male, half‑female), ay’lonit (female who transitions to male at puberty), saris (male who transitions to female at puberty), and tumtum (individuals with indeterminate sexual characteristics).

Tumtums enjoyed a unique flexibility: they could marry either men or women, assuming the gender role appropriate to the spouse—husband‑like duties with a female partner, wife‑like duties with a male partner.

4 The Fa’afafines Of Samoa

Samoa acknowledges a third gender known as fa’afafine, literally “in the manner of a woman.” These are boys who are raised as girls, embodying a distinct gender identity separate from both “male” and “female” labels.

Fa’afafine assert that they are neither transgender nor homosexual, as those terms reference binary categories. They typically assume domestic and caregiving roles associated with women, though they may also form romantic partnerships with women or other fa’afafine.

While some fa’afafine are believed to be born with this identity, others result from parental decisions—particularly families with many sons and no daughters may designate a son as fa’afafine. This forced rearing can be abusive, with pressure to conform through physical punishment or encouragement to prove masculinity via sports.

3 The Sekratas Of Madagascar

Madagascar’s cultural tapestry includes the sekrata, a third‑gender group comprising boys raised as girls who later live as women. Their outward appearance—long hair, jewelry, and feminine attire—often leads outsiders to assume they are men in women’s clothing.

Identifying as women, sekrata adopt speech patterns, behaviors, and dress traditionally linked to females. They typically avoid male‑dominated activities such as military service or cattle herding.

Local belief endows sekrata with mystical powers; they are thought capable of casting curses on those who insult them, reinforcing both reverence and fear within the community.

2 The Guevedoces Of The Dominican Republic

In certain Dominican Republic communities, a third gender called guevedoce (literally “penis at 12”) is recognized. These children are born with ambiguous genitalia that appear female, leading families to assign them female names and raise them as girls.

During puberty, a surge in testosterone triggers the development of a concealed penis, revealing a male phenotype. Dr. Julianne Imperato‑McGinley’s 1970s research uncovered that a deficiency in the enzyme 5‑alpha‑reductase caused this delayed masculinization.

While many guevedoces embrace their newfound male identity, some resist the change, opting for gender‑affirming surgery to remain women. The condition also spurred medical advances, notably the creation of finasteride, a drug now used to treat enlarged prostates.

1 The Warias Of Indonesia

Warias are biologically male individuals who live as women, believed to possess a feminine soul within a male body. Their name blends the Indonesian words wanita (woman) and pria (man).

Some waria undergo sex‑reassignment surgery, while others retain their male anatomy but adopt traditionally feminine behaviors and attire. Public opinion in Indonesia is divided: certain communities revere waria as spiritual healers, whereas others subject them to harassment, stripping, and even forced head shaving.

Facing widespread discrimination and limited economic opportunities, many waria turn to prostitution to survive.

10 societies recognize the richness of gender diversity worldwide

From South Asian Hijras to Caribbean guevedoces, the spectrum of gender identities demonstrates humanity’s capacity for cultural nuance and acceptance. By learning about these societies, we gain insight into how gender can be celebrated, regulated, or challenged across different continents.

Welcome to a whirlwind tour of 10 strange societies, those hidden circles where the unusual meets the elite, the eccentric, and the downright mysterious. From secretive philanthropic clubs to quirky appreciation groups, each organization offers a glimpse into a world you probably never imagined.

10 Strange Societies: An Unexpected Journey

10 The Alfalfa Club

Founded by four gentlemen at Washington’s historic Willard Hotel, the Alfalfa Club takes its name from the plant whose roots are reputed to ‘do anything for a drink.’ Legend has it the club was launched in 1913 to honor Robert E. Lee’s birthday, though that tale remains somewhat apocryphal. Membership is ultra‑exclusive—about 200 of the world’s wealthiest and most influential individuals—so spots only open when a current member passes away, and new entrants must be personally invited.

The club’s sole public function is an extravagant banquet held on the last Saturday of January each year. The sitting U.S. President is traditionally asked to address the assembly, a role many have accepted more than once. When President Barack Obama first attended in 2009, he quipped, “This dinner began almost 100 years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused.”

For roughly eight decades the Alfalfa Club barred women from its ranks; that policy finally crumbled in 1994 after President Bill Clinton staged a boycott in protest, prompting the organization to admit female members.

9 The Dill Pickle Club

Although it no longer exists, the Dill Pickle Club burst onto the Chicago scene in 1914, the brainchild of Archibald “Jack” Jones, a Canadian organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World. After a falling‑out with the IWW over tactics, Jones erected a new venue where activists could debate labor and societal issues over drinks.

The club attracted a veritable who’s‑who of Chicago’s intellectual elite—Upton Sinclair, Clarence Darrow, and others—while Prohibition turned it into a lively speakeasy frequented by college students. Musical and theatrical performances added to its bohemian allure. By the early 1930s, Jones stopped paying protection money to the local mob, leading police to shut the doors for good.

The club’s entrance bore a warning sign that read “Danger,” and a cheeky motto emblazoned on the door: “Step High, Stoop Low, Leave Your Dignity Outside.”

8 The UK Roundabout Appreciation Society

A relatively obscure British outfit, the UK Roundabout Appreciation Society (UKRAS) lives up to its name by championing the humble roundabout. Its members argue that endless straight roads breed visual monotony, so they advocate installing circular intersections wherever feasible—and adorning the central islands with art, monuments, or even working windmills. In fact, a wind‑mill‑equipped roundabout earned the title of Britain’s best by UKRAS.

The society was founded by Kevin Beresford after his 2003 “Best of British Roundabouts” calendar proved popular. He now spends his time photographing the most eye‑catching rotaries across the UK. Fun fact: Beresford’s nickname is “Lord of the Rings.”

7 The Trap Door Spiders

In 1943, American scientist‑writer John D. Clark wed an opera singer, a match that displeased his close friend Fletcher Pratt. Pratt’s disdain for the new Mrs. Clark was so intense that he formed a male‑only club just so he could spend time with Clark without his wife’s presence. Thus the Trap Door Spiders were born, borrowing their name from the arachnid that seals its burrow behind a hinged door—much like the club’s desire to keep unwanted guests out.

The original roster numbered about twenty men who gathered monthly for dinner and lively conversation. While women could attend as guests, they could only be invited by the host of that particular evening. Membership was (and still is) granted by a vote of existing members after a vacancy appears, typically when a member dies. Notable science‑fiction writers such as Isaac Asimov, Martin Gardner, and L. Sprague de Camp were among its ranks; Asimov even modeled his fictional Black Widowers after this group.

6 The Seven Society

The University of Virginia’s Seven Society remains one of the most secretive collegiate organizations in the United States. Its emblem—a stylized “7” flanked by the symbols for alpha, omega, and infinity—first appeared in the 1905 yearbook Corks & Curls. The identities of its members are closely guarded; they are only revealed posthumously when a banner bearing the Society’s insignia is displayed at the member’s funeral. Even the bells the Society donated to the University Chapel toll in a pattern based on the number seven.

Publicly, the Seven Society is known primarily for its lavish generosity. At a 1947 commencement ceremony, a small explosion sent a check for $177,777.77 onto the stage, funding an interest‑free loan program for any UVA student, faculty, or staff in financial distress. Other notable gifts include $77.77 for a drinking fountain in 1955 and $14,777.77 in 2008 to launch a fund encouraging student‑submitted ideas for campus improvement.

5 The Gormogons

Officially titled the Ancient and Noble Order of the Gormogons, this secretive fraternity emerged in 1724 after a London Daily Post article described a mysterious group claiming Chinese origins from millennia past. Their declared purpose was to position themselves as anti‑Freemasons, even demanding that any former Freemason renounce the Masonic Order before joining.

Because the Gormogons left no written records, their rituals and inner workings have been lost to history. Some scholars suspect that the group was the brainchild of Andrew Michael Ramsay, a fervent Freemason known as the Chevalier Ramsay. Regardless of its true founder, the society vanished in 1738—the same year Pope Clement XII issued a papal bull condemning Freemasonry.

4 The Trilateral Commission

Founded in 1973 by David Rockefeller, the Trilateral Commission was born after the Bilderberg Group allegedly balked at admitting Japanese members. Rockefeller and his co‑founders envisioned a forum that would foster cooperation among leaders from Japan, Europe, Canada, and the United States, believing that joint problem‑solving could improve global governance.

Originally intended to exist for just three years—a “triennium”—the Commission has been renewed repeatedly and now includes representatives from China, India, Mexico, and many other nations. Conspiracy theorists often point to the group as a shadowy driver of a world‑government agenda, largely because numerous prominent political and business figures have served on its panels.

3 The Durham University Assassins’ Society

Durham University, home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Durham Castle, also houses the Durham University Assassins’ Society (DUAS), founded in 1996. DUAS is among the oldest and most active assassin societies worldwide, staging a variety of “games” throughout the academic year. Participants attempt to “kill” one another using Nerf guns or cardboard knives, with each game lasting anywhere from a few hours to several weeks.

DUAS doles out a range of whimsical awards, such as the Stephen King Award for Best Narration, which one year went to Millie Power for delivering her kill reports in poetic form. The society is renowned for its extensive rulebook, which covers every conceivable scenario with astonishing specificity.

2 Uttar Pradesh Association Of Dead People

In 1975, Lal Bihari applied for a bank loan in his home district of Uttar Pradesh, India, only to be told his application was invalid because officials had declared him dead. The declaration stemmed from a corrupt relative who bribed a bureaucrat to seize Bihari’s ancestral farmland. Determined to reclaim his identity, Bihari spent eighteen years fighting the legal system to prove he was, in fact, alive.

During his struggle, Bihari discovered a hidden community of similarly mis‑declared individuals and founded the Uttar Pradesh Association of Dead People. The group’s mission is to compel the government to recognize its members as living citizens, thereby restoring their confiscated property and civil rights. The organization attracted thousands of members, and Bihari was even awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for his efforts.

1 The Hemlock Society

Established in 1980 by Derek Humphry in a Santa Monica garage, the Hemlock Society quickly grew into one of the United States’ largest right‑to‑die organizations. Its core belief was that terminally ill patients should have the legal right to end their own lives with physician‑prescribed medication, distinguishing this stance from suicide driven by emotional distress.

The Society’s name alludes to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, who famously drank hemlock to accept his death sentence. Membership peaked in the 1990s before newer groups entered the arena. In 2003, the organization rebranded as End of Life Choices, and a year later merged with Compassion & Choices, retiring its original motto “Good life, good death.”

Secret societies have fascinated humans for ages – who wouldn’t be curious about groups that operate behind closed doors? Yet, the popular imagination often paints them as sinister cabals bent on world domination. From the shadowy whispers about the Masons to the lurid myths surrounding the Illuminati, conspiracy‑mongers love to portray these circles as evil masterminds. In reality, many of them were founded with noble intentions. Below you’ll find the top 10 secret societies that proved the opposite, each working toward a greater good.

Top 10 Secret Societies Overview

10 Whiteboys

Emerging in 18th‑century Ireland, the Whiteboys were a covert agrarian movement composed of young male peasants. Sworn to secrecy and adopting flamboyant pseudonyms, they rallied against the oppressive treatment of farmers and laborers by the ruling elite. Their moniker stemmed from the habit of donning white shirts during clandestine meetings.

The group drafted their own “laws,” demanding higher wages, lower tithes, and other reforms to aid the working class. When authorities ignored these edicts, the Whiteboys resorted to intimidation, property damage, and even macabre displays—such as digging graves and positioning coffins on public roads—to warn landowners of the consequences of neglecting the rural poor.

9 E Clampus Vitus

Born amid the 19th‑century American Gold Rush, E Clampus Vitus (often affectionately called the “Clampers”) began as a tongue‑in‑cheek response to the proliferation of secret societies across the western frontier. Their mission was simple: inject humor into the lives of weary miners while preserving quirky local history.

The Clampers mocked more solemn fraternities—like the Odd Fellows and the Masons—through outlandish initiation rites and a name that isn’t genuine Latin at all. Today they honor forgotten corners of the past, installing plaques at historic saloons, bawdy houses, and other neglected sites that serious historians might overlook.

8 Family Of Love

Founded in Holland in 1539, the Family of Love—despite its saccharine name—was a radical religious fellowship devoted to aiding the impoverished and championing divine love over doctrinal rigidity. Its adherents argued that true spirituality lay in personal experience of God’s love, not in rigid adherence to any single creed.

At a time when Europe was split between Catholicism and Protestantism, the Family of Love’s inclusive stance attracted attention in England, eventually provoking Queen Elizabeth I to outlaw the group, imprison its members, and burn its texts. Nonetheless, the movement sowed seeds for later Quaker beliefs, leaving a lasting legacy on religious tolerance.

7 Mau Mau

The Mau Mau emerged in 1950s Kenya as a nationalist secret society, blending ritual initiations with a belief in magical protection. While their insurgency involved brutal acts and widespread violence, it was rooted in a desperate response to British colonial exploitation, severe poverty, and systemic oppression.

Although the uprising claimed thousands of lives, the Mau Mau’s resistance forced the colonial administration to confront its own cruelty. Within a decade of the society’s dissolution, Kenya achieved independence in 1963, and its first president was reported to have been a former Mau Mau member.

6 Patrons Of Husbandry

Better known in the United States as the Grange, the Patrons of Husbandry launched in 1867 as a national agricultural fraternity modeled after Masonic traditions—complete with oaths, passwords, and private meetings. While some critics claimed it was a front for Freemasons and Odd Fellows, the Grange distinguished itself by welcoming women as full members, a rarity for the era.

Spurred by the Panic of 1873, the organization swelled to over 850,000 members by the 1950s, establishing schools, lobbying for free‑trade policies, railroad regulation, and better public education. Today, with roughly 200,000 members—reflecting the decline of farming as a profession—the Grange remains a testament to collective farmer advocacy.

5 The French Resistance

Often overlooked as a secret society, the French Resistance operated covertly throughout Nazi‑occupied France, conducting sabotage, disseminating underground newspapers, and broadcasting anti‑German radio programs. Their clandestine nature was essential for survival under the watchful eye of the Gestapo.

Under the strategic direction of Charles de Gaulle—who coordinated efforts from exile in the United Kingdom—the Resistance comprised roughly 100,000 fighters across nine distinct networks by 1944. Tragically, about 50,000 members were captured, with half never returning, yet their bravery proved pivotal to France’s liberation.

4 The Order Of Chaeronea

In 1897 London, George Cecil Ives founded the Order of Chaeronea—a secret brotherhood providing gay men a safe haven for mutual support and advocacy during an era of intense homophobia. The name references the ancient Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC), symbolizing a stand against oppression.

Among its most famous members was Oscar Wilde, whose imprisonment for “gross indecency” highlighted the perilous climate the Order sought to counter. Though the society faded over time, its legacy endures as an early champion of LGBTQ+ rights.

3 Sons Of Liberty

The Sons of Liberty operated as a covert patriotic fraternity in pre‑revolutionary America, rallying against British taxation and colonial rule. Initially called the Loyal Nine during their 1765 protest against the Stamp Act, they adopted the “Sons of Liberty” name after an Irish MP’s defiant remark.

Legendary figures such as Benedict Arnold, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and Paul Revere counted among their ranks. While women lacked formal political power, the movement actively encouraged the creation of “Daughters of Liberty,” urging women to boycott British goods and support the cause.

Through stockpiling firearms, orchestrating mob intimidation, and even employing tarring and feathering, the Sons of Liberty engineered bold acts of resistance—including the iconic Boston Tea Party—ultimately pushing Britain toward colonial independence.

2 Grand Order Of Water Rats

The Grand Order of Water Rats began in the late 1800s when two British musicians decided that the winnings from their prize‑racing pony should fund assistance for struggling performers. Their quirky name originated from a rainy day when a bus driver dubbed the soaked pony a “bleedin’ water rat.”

According to legend, “rats” is “star” reversed, and “vole” anagrams to “love,” making “Water Rats” a symbolic emblem of camaraderie and affection among entertainers.

Despite the oddball origin story, the fraternity attracted a glittering roster of members—including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and Brian May—who have collectively championed charitable initiatives for fellow artists in need.

1 Royal Society

Founded in London in 1660, the Royal Society began as the “Invisible College for the promoting of Physico‑Mathematical Experimental Learning.” Its early invisibility stemmed from the turmoil of the English Civil War, and a 1658 raid by soldiers temporarily disbanded the group.

Eventually securing a royal charter from King Charles II, the Society shed its secrecy and blossomed into a premier scientific institution, championing knowledge dissemination worldwide. Its illustrious fellows have included Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing, and Albert Einstein, among countless other pioneers.

As one poetic line suggests, “He’s from a flat place with a big sky. Gotta fill all that sky with something, so he filled it with his dreams.” This captures the Society’s enduring spirit of curiosity and ambition.

Prince Harry’s much‑anticipated memoir Spare has hit the shelves, and true to royal honey‑dripping expectations, it’s flying off the racks. The book promises a candid look at how the Crown’s expectations shaped his life, his stints in the armed forces, and the highly publicized departure from royalty alongside his outspoken American spouse. In this roundup of 10 times members have decided to spill the beans on the secret societies they once called home, the revelations are as juicy as a royal gossip column.

10 Times Members Reveal Hidden Truths

10 John Robison—Freemasons

John Robison was a heavyweight in Britain’s scientific circles—a professor at Edinburgh, an authority on optics and mathematics, and a respected voice in the Royal Society. In the late 1700s he penned the incendiary volume Proofs of a Conspiracy against all the Religions and Governments of Europe, a treatise that peeled back the curtain on the Freemasons and, most famously, the shadowy Illuminati cell that has haunted conspiracy lore ever since. As a Mason himself, Robison could draw on insider knowledge, and his book sold out on release, spawning countless re‑prints.

From his Scottish perch he watched the French monarchy tumble, the church’s power crumble, and the entire Revolution erupt. He blamed the chaos squarely on Masonic influence, arguing that the revolutionaries were nothing more than pawns in a grand, secretive game orchestrated by the Freemasons.

9 Ed Decker—Mormon Church

Born in 1935, Ed Decker grew up inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑Day Saints before branching out to become a leading voice for ex‑Mormons with the group Saints Alive in Jesus. Teaming up with Dave Hunt, Decker co‑authored the controversial book The God Makers, which pulled back the veil on the inner workings of the LDS Church, exposing doctrines and practices that many outsiders never imagined.

His disaffection deepened after encountering other critics of Mormonism, leading him to reject the claim that Joseph Smith was divinely commissioned to restore pure Christianity, and to publicly challenge the church’s foundational narratives.

8 Stetson Kennedy—KKK

Stetson Kennedy, a Depression‑era writer, turned his investigative talents toward the Ku Klux Klan. In 1954 his groundbreaking book The Klan Unmasked revealed the organization’s secret handshakes, passwords, folklore, and the absurdity of their white‑sheet garb. He collected evidence straight from the grand dragon himself, handing it over to the IRS, which secured a $685,000 tax lien against the Klan.

Kennedy’s work also helped draft a legal brief that led Georgia to revoke the Klan’s corporate charter, and he testified in numerous related cases before his death at 94, having spent a lifetime dismantling the terror group’s mystique.

7 Heinrich Himmler—Nazis

Heinrich Himmler, the chief architect of the Holocaust and Hitler’s right‑hand, kept a painstaking diary that survived the war’s ruin. Compiled by his assistant and uncovered in 2013, the journals span over a thousand pages, chronicling daily life, the execution of dissenting Polish officers, and the chilling logistics of the Final Solution, including orders to arm Auschwitz guards with vicious dogs.

While the diaries are stark and personal rather than reflective, they provide an unsettling window into the mind of one of history’s most monstrous figures, documenting the bureaucratic efficiency behind genocide.

6 Jeannie Mills—People’s Temple

Jeannie Mills, alongside her husband Al and their two children, fled the People’s Temple in 1974 after serving as the church’s publication chief (Deanna) and official photographer (Elmer). After leaving, they founded the Human Freedom Center, a sanctuary for defectors, and became vocal critics of Jim Jones’ cult, especially after the Jonestown tragedy.

In February 1980 the Mills family was brutally murdered in Berkeley, sparking rumors of a death‑squad retaliation from former Temple members. Later investigations suggested their son Eddie might have been involved, dampening the theory of a secretive cult‑run execution squad.

5 Leah Remini—Scientology

Leah Remini, best known for her role on The King of Queens, was raised in Scientology from age eight when her mother converted. Her eventual departure was prompted by concerns for her nine‑year‑old daughter, and shortly after she filed a missing‑person report for Scientology leader David Miscavige’s wife, Shelly, who vanished in 2007.

Since leaving, Remini has become a fierce opponent of the church, producing the investigative series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and actively supporting legal actions against the organization.

4 India and Catherine Oxenberg—NXIVM

Catherine Oxenberg and her daughter India enrolled in NXIVM’s “entrepreneurial” workshops, only to discover a hidden secret society within the group that tore mother and daughter apart. After seven harrowing years, both escaped the sex‑cult’s grip, and Catherine chronicled the ordeal in a memoir detailing her desperate rescue attempts.

India eventually recognized the manipulation, and the cult’s founder Keith Raniere was convicted of racketeering, sex trafficking, and possession of child pornography, sealing the organization’s downfall.

3 Janja Lalich—Democratic Workers Party

The Democratic Workers Party (DWP) emerged in the 1970s as a radical, women‑led Marxist‑Leninist experiment in the United States, championing a strict sectarian approach. Though it dissolved in 1985, its cult‑like adherence to a primitive Leninist doctrine left a lasting imprint.

Former member Janja Lalich endured extreme control: forced name changes, the burning of personal belongings, income restrictions, and isolation from family. After escaping, she became a noted sociologist and author, exposing how such groups recruit and coerce members in works that illuminate the mechanics of cult dynamics.

2 Joe Valachi—The Mafia (aka Cosa Nostra)

Joe Valachi, an American mobster who rose to the rank of sergeant within Lucky Luciano’s Mafia family, turned informant in 1962 after a death threat from Vito Genovese drove him to murder a fellow inmate in a paranoid frenzy. He then spilled the Mafia’s secrets to the Bureau of Narcotics, the FBI, the DOJ, and even the U.S. Senate.

Valachi’s testimony became one of the most influential inside looks on organized crime, earning him a $100,000 bounty on his head, a protective program, and a tragic end when a heart attack finally claimed his life.

1 Carlos Lehder—Medellín Drug Cartel

Carlos Lehder began his criminal career smuggling stolen cars into Canada and the U.S. East Coast, which led him into the orbit of the Medellín cartel. He soon orchestrated massive cocaine shipments, persuading George Jung to use aircraft for transport, and rose to a senior position before falling out with Pablo Escobar.

Arrested and sentenced to life, Lehder’s term was later reduced when he agreed to testify against former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, whose regime had facilitated cartel shipments. After serving a reduced sentence, he entered witness protection, was deported to Germany, and retained his German citizenship.

We’re quite used to the clean historical model of humans evolving from some manner of uncivilized, famished, desperate individuals to the well-nourished and civilized beings we know today. We’ve progressed from a series of despotisms into sophisticated republics, democracies, collectives, and so on.

Except it’s not that simple. Many times through history a society was brought down by enemies without, or subversives within. The ramifications of these regressions inevitably ripple out through the rest of the human race, even if the effects aren’t immediately obvious. So it would be best for us to get better acquainted with times when societies reversed progress in terms of technology, culture, or organization.   

10. The Ascent of Caesars 

Because Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar both have developed a degree of personality cult since their reigns, it is easy to think they were unalloyed blessings for the Roman Empire. It’s been said of Augustus in particular that he found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble. However, the lower classes of Rome actually had plenty of reason to curse the arrival of Emperor Augustus; even those who weren’t particularly invested in the concept of a senate. 

For one thing, according to Michael Parenti’s A People’s History of Ancient Rome, Augustus passed sales and death taxes which only impacted the poor or working classes. He eradicated the popular assemblies, which had brought some degree of popular representation when even the senate was proving unmanageably corrupt. As if that were not devastating enough to the working class, he also banned many guilds. The final nail in the coffin of the idea Augustus had any populist inclination was his legal restrictions on the number of slaves that an owner was allowed to free, lest free labor receive too much bargaining power. Little wonder that for all the marble construction he was supposedly overseeing, Augustus’s reign was still replete with poverty and plague.   

9. The Rise of Pinochet

In 1973, democratically-elected president Salvador Allende committed suicide in response to a CIA-backed coup. In his place rose General Augusto Pinochet, bringing a decades-long wave of terror with him. In all, an estimated 3,000 people were murdered in his coup d’etat, including a famous widespread practice of dropping 120 people from helicopters. In terms of specific cultural regression, Pinochet was so vocally anti-feminist that women of the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared were instrumental in ousting Pinochet from the presidency in 1990. 

Pinochet had very little compunction about biting the American hand that fed him. In 1976 he had former Chilean ambassador Orlando Letelier assassinated in Washington DC. Even as late as 1986 he was openly rejecting advice from the Reagan Administration to implement human rights, saying to General John Galvin he would “set Chile’s course without advice without anyone else.” Ambassador Harry Barnes would refer to the dictator who oversaw the deaths of so many Chileans and the revoking of rights for so many others as a “Chilean Archie Bunker.” Such is the banality of evil. 

8. Panic of 1873

The period of American history between the Civil War’s end in 1865 and, roughly, the Spanish-American War of 1898 is prone to being skimmed over in high school history classes. One thing that gets skipped over as a result is when America plunged into its first depression, largely a result of the gigantic railroad financing Jay Cooke & Co. declaring bankruptcy in 1873. They took 18,000 companies nationwide down with them, and by 1876 unemployment would peak at 14%. The economic fallout of that would last until 1877, and it would actually impact Europe longer, with France in particular having an economic slowdown that lasted until 1879. 

This happened during a period of increased labor organization in the US. In the state of California in particular, Chinese immigrants were blamed for making the money pit railroads possible and for undercutting wages, and so widespread atrocities sprang up, such as the attack on San Francisco’s Chinatown. The anti-Chinese fallout would outlast the depression, so that in 1882 the Chinese Exclusion Act would be signed into law. The union laborers fared little better, as federal troops were sent to break up or even shoot at strikes, resulting in more than 100 laborer deaths. In the former Confederate states, the redirection of Federal resources meant the Ku Klux Klan was able to resume its campaigns of terror against Black populations with full force, resulting in, arguably, America losing its reconstruction. In short, nothing endangers progress like an economic disaster.  

7. Thirty Years War

One of the most destructive wars in European history, the Thirty Years War effectively began in 1618 when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II tried to reimpose Catholic dominion on Austria and Bohemia. After five years he more or less succeeded, but the struggle left Germany vulnerable to invasion from King Christian IV of Sweden, and it went in like fashion until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. The Holy Roman Empire lost grievously, as the war had alienated much of Europe to the concept of a centralized religious authority in favor of secularized nation-states. Even more horribly impacted was Germany. 

In addition to the many deaths from war, plague and famine which would cost regions in what would become Germany as much as 40% of their populations due to devastation and raids by unpaid mercenary armies, many governments of Middle Europe often became effectively non-viable. Germany broke up into 300 principalities. With each having its own expensive administration, the level of costs for government services rose at a much faster rate than could be dealt with by devastated economies. Furthermore shipping goods became a nightmare, as a shipment down the Rhine could run through as many as 27 principalities, meaning constant stops through customs for the most trifling orders. With such impaired trade and poverty, little wonder that Germany remained Balkanized for centuries. 

6. Fernando VII’s Tumultuous Reign 

Few reigns were as fraught as this Spanish King’s. The event that allowed him to take the throne of Spain in 1808 was the abdication of his predecessor Charles IV, which was known as the “Tumult of Aranjuez.” As Spain was under invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte when the dictator of France was pretending to be the steward of the French Revolution and transferring monarchical power to the people, Napoleon had him put in prison that same year. Napoleon released him in 1814 as the French military withdrew from Spain.  

While the king had been imprisoned, liberal independent forces in Spain had passed a new system of government known as the Constitution of Cádiz in 1812, which among other liberal reforms limited the monarchy’s power. Ferdinand VII was not about to approve of a constitution that limited his very recently restored powers and had the liberals who’d composed the document imprisoned or exiled. To secure power he turned more and more to reactionary forces, among them his brother Don Carlos. 

Yet the forces of progress were not beaten forever, and scored a major success in 1820 when Colonel Rafael Riego joined the constitutionalists, starting a civil war that Ferdinand put to an end that year when he ratified the constitution. In 1822, Spain fell into civil war again when royalist forces rose up to declare Ferdinand be unbound from the constitution he’d signed, which prompted a royal French army to invade in their support until the liberals declared the constitution void in 1823, and Ferdinand had many of them exiled or imprisoned again. Or at least he did until 1830, when his lack of a male heir meant he deemed Princess Isabella his successor. Don Carlos did not agree to that and another civil war broke out; this time Ferdinand had to turn back to the liberals he had spent years persecuting. His sympathies would remain with them until his death in 1833. Even today the many times he rolled back progress in Spain are heavily criticized by liberal historians.    

5. Prince Metternich

Speaking of monarchs trying to keep power from the people in the 19th Century, Prince Klemens von Metternich is remembered both for maintaining peace in Europe in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars and for being extremely oppressive. He became foreign minister in 1809 and concentrated on stopping expansion of the Russian and Ottoman Empire and also democratic institutions, including putting down peoples’ uprisings. Ultimately such uprisings would force him out of office in 1848. According to books such as Alexander Gerschenkron’s Bread and Democracy in Germany, Metternich had admitted that while it was inevitable that democracy would overtake Europe in the wake of such momentous events as the French Revolution, he would roll it back for as long as he could.  

Even into the 1950s, Metternich was still widely condemned in Germany and Austria. Films from the period depicted him and his secret police infiltrating peasant celebrations, trying to ban supposedly inflammatory waltzes in favor of traditionalist polka dances. As Metternich would have conceded, people often don’t consider peace a worthwhile substitute for freedom. 

4. Afghanistan’s Taliban Disaster

Previous TopTenz lists have mentioned how, in the 1950s, Afghanistan was perhaps the most progressive nation in the Middle East, and this history was used by General James Mattis in 2017 for an attempt to convince President Trump to continue American occupation in the hopes of returning the country to that state. That is quite ironic as it turns out American Cold War operations are the leading reason that Afghanistan became a Muslim theocracy. The popular perception is that the US began supporting the Mujahideen in an effort to expel the Soviet Invasion. The truth is that before a single Soviet boot touched the ground in Afghanistan, America was already sending funding to religious extremists such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was launching acid attacks on Afghan women. 

By 1994, having defeated the Soviet military and contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Taliban was uniting with US-backed Mujahideen fighters. By 1996 they had taken over Kabul. If the Bush and Obama administrations were to be believed, this led to the gutting of all sorts of civil rights in the years that followed, particularly for women. After a two decade occupation by the US from 2002 to 2021, those rights ultimately were not restored.  

3. First World War America

America’s role in winning the war to end all wars for the Allies often overshadows the grievous effect that manufacturing consent had on the home front. Despite President Woodrow Wilson campaigning on keeping the US out of the war, within a month the US government was imprisoning anti-war agitators under the Espionage Act despite the clear violation of the First Amendment. To a suspicious degree, the arrests targeted strike organizers. A particular target was the Industrial Workers of the World organization, which saw as many as 100 members put behind bars in September 1917 in the Chicago area alone. Most famous of all arrests was Senator Eugene V. Debs for daring to give a speech against US involvement in the war on June 18, 1918 to an audience in Canton, Ohio. 

Additionally, a wave of anti-German sentiment swept the country. While it’s well known that sauerkraut became known as “liberty cabbage,” it took much more severe forms such as the murder of immigrants like Robert Prager in Collinsville, Illinois. As a result many Germans actively downplayed their heritage, to a degree where they changed their names and those of their communities. This rollback of acknowledging German heritage helped downplay the disproportionate role that German abolitionists played in preserving the Union in the Civil War and left a vacuum that was filled with more pro-Confederate propaganda, whitewashing the war and its aftermath. 

2. The Weimar Republic

The rise of the Third Reich looms so large in German history that the postwar 1910s through Hitler’s election to chancellor in 1933 often gets overlooked. After Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, the national assembly convened in the town of Weimar to draft a new constitution and ratified it in February 1919. That same year women’s suffrage was ratified in Germany and societal attitudes such as tolerance for LGBT citizens began to take hold. A welfare system was instituted. 

The Weimar Republic had the rotten luck to inherit a horribly threatened economy, and by 1923 hyperinflation threatened the new government’s survival. It was only through introducing the new America-backed currency, the Rentenmark, that the day was saved for a time. When the American economy crashed in 1929 it took the Republican economy down with it, allowing the Nazi rise through parliament and the destruction of most of those civil rights, though it did keep a robust welfare state in place for ostensibly pure-blooded Aryans. 

1. Fall of the Soviet Union 

There have been past TopTenz articles detailing the horrors of the Soviet Union, but its collapse was a horrible disaster for millions of people as well. After its last ditch effort to coup Boris Yeltsin and replace him with Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991, the Soviet communists officially had their system of government declared defunct in December 1991. 

The result of 15 largely impoverished governments emerging was ruinous for many lives. Loss of medical care and switching to less nourishing home grown diets meant that by 1994 average male life expectancies in Russia had dropped six years, and three years for women. Infrastructure standards dropped, privatization lost many citizens their mass housing and sense of social cohesion. Hardly surprising then that a 2018 survey found that 66% of Russians expressed nostalgia for the Soviet system. 

Dustin Koski is bracing for the next major loss of progress, because his post-apocalyptic ghost novel Return of the Living is sure to get him put against the wall.

Not many people are aware of the contributions made by several secret societies in shaping the world as we know today. For the most part, their endeavours are not justly recorded in our history books. The secret societies listed here have sometimes managed to push their country forward and sometimes backwards. Never-the-less, they helped shape the world. Now, let’s take a look into 10 secret societies that shaped our world:

10. The Germanenorden (Germany)

Germanenorden established in 1812 was a society born out of their adversity towards Jews and their belief in the Aryan race superiority. Therefore it was not surprising when in 1916 they adopted the Swastika symbol. They recruited members based on evidences of their Aryan ancestry by proof of their birth certificates among other things, which was followed by initiation rituals where members were to dress up like nymphs, knights, kings et al.

The group changed into the Thule Society in 1918 and assisted in defeating communalism. They further renamed themselves into the German Workers Party. In 1920 Adolf  Hitler took over the society and made sure to do away the unnecessary absurd rituals.

9. Afrikaner Broederbond (South Africa)

The Afrikaner Broederbond group, founded in 1918, went one step ahead and had actually aimed at seizing control over the whole of South Africa. Membership was only opened to white men over 25 years of age who were guided by their self-promoted Afrikaner nationalism seeking to dominate over the economy, culture and politics of South Africa. There managed to influence the Reunited National Party so much so that it irked the prime minister who called the party as “nothing more than the secret Afrikaner Broederbond operating in public.” And they started controlling the South African Bureau of Racial Affairs in 1947.

Their rise to power was astounding and almost every important political person was a member of the society. This gave rise to a saying, “The South African government today is the Broederbond and the “Broederbond is the government.” It was only after Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994 that the society began seeing downhill.

After this they renamed themselves into Afrikanerbond and now, are open to include members irrespective of their colour, religion, gender et al with a goal of making South Africa a better country.

8. The Carbonari (Italy)

No one knows how or exactly when the Carbonari came into existence. But as speculation goes, it originated around the time when the Congress of Vienna was deciding on what to do with the territories conquered by Napoleon. By 1815, Italy was cut into several pieces. This Italian secret group is said to have had 60,000 members and they rose in revolt against King Ferdinand who was ruling over Sicily and Naples. He soon had to give up his power. This was followed by the whole of Italy rising up into a widespread movement that eventually ended in the unification of Italy in 1861.

7. La Trinitaria (Dominican Republic)

The La Trinitaria, or The Trinity was founded in July 1838 in Dominican Republic which was under Haitian rule since the year 1822. The Republican citizen wanted freedom from the clutches of the Haitians. It was among such sentiments that Juan Pablo Duarte rose as a national leader and founded The Trinity. He was only 25 years old and his secret society comprised of only 8 members.

The society aimed at spreading national sentiment and achieving independence. They used cryptic methods in communication and pseudonym to keep their existence hidden. Besides helping other rebel groups they had attempted at a revolution in 1843, which failed. The members were imprisoned while Duarte fled the country. But The Trinity’s audacious work had set the ball rolling and while they remained dormant, Republicans rose up a fought until Dominican Republic was declared free on February 27, 1844. Unfortunately, when Juan Pablo Duarte returned to preside over the country he had helped to create, he was overthrown by a military coup. Duarte died in exile in 1864.

6. The Hawaiian League (Hawaii)

The Hawaiian League was formed by 200 affluent Europeans and Americans discontented with the Hawaiian ruler King Kalakaua. They alleged the king of being too extravagant so they hatched a plan to overthrow the monarchy with backing from the American businessmen. In 1887, the secret society came into existence with a constitution written by Lorrin A. Thurston, though unfortunately the document didn’t survive the passage of time.

With 405 members and alliance with the Honolulu Rifles, they managed to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in the year 1893. For 5 years, Hawaii remained a republic until it became a territory of the US in 1898. In 1959 Hawaii was officially recognized as the 50th state of the US.

5. Filiki Etaireia (Greece)

In 1814, Nikalaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, together along with a few other merchants founded the Filiki Etaireia (“Friendly Brotherhood”) to overthrow the Ottoman rule in their country. The society took their ‘secret’ part very seriously and when one of their member named Nikolaos Galatis began beating drums out in the open about the existence of their society, he was murdered by the Brotherhood.

The society had a very complicated recruiting system with six level of membership, the top level of which was occupied with men of great education and money. With the help of a Russian officer named Alexander Ypsilantis, the Brotherhood initiated the Greek Revolution in the Spring of 1821. Unfortunately, into the very beginning of the war, the secret society dissembled but the revolution ended with Greece winning their independence.

4. Katipunan (Philippines)

Katipunan came into existance in the Philippines in 1892 with the goal of opposing the Spanish domination. The single worded name is actually the abbreviated form of Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang Na Katipunan Nang Manga Anak Nang Bayan that translates into the ‘Supreme Worshipful Association of the Sons of the People.’

This society had a male-only membership that was inherited by the sons from their fathers. They had all sorts of rituals and codes as expected form a secret society but the singularity of their rituals was that they signed every document with their own blood, beginning with their founding document back in July 7th 1892. For many years thousand of the members remained mum without giving a clue as to their existence to the Spanish authority. When their secret was out they overthrew their concealment and went for an all-out rebellion that ended with the Filipinos gaining their independence in June 12, 1898.

3. Irish Republican Brotherhood (Irb)

James Stephens along with a few other fellowmen founded the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood on St Patrick’s Day in 1858. They had centers in as many as seven different countries – Canada, USA, England, Australia (that was under the British Empire), New Zealand and South America. Each center had a colonel with nine captains, nine sergeants and nine privates. Each recruit knew only his superior so as to keep their identities hidden.

By 1910, the brotherhood had several Irish members and under the leadership of Thomas Clarke rose up in revolt in 1916, now known as the Easter Rising. The rising, however, failed. A few years later IBR lead the Anglo-Irish war that eventually saw the Irish Free State being created in 1921.

2. The Black Hand (Serbia)

Unification Or Death, was a Serbian organization better known as the Black Hand. It was founded on May 9, 1911 to fight against the Ottoman rule. All 2,500 members of the society took oath to put secrecy of the group before their own lives. They operated on different levels and took significant steps to make sure each member was not in contact with most of the other members so that when one member was caught he would have no information to offer about the other members.

The Black Hand was leaded by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, also known as ‘Apis’ after the bull deity of Ancient Egypt. And it was he who planned the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that led to the breaking out of World War I.

1. The Union Of Salvation (Russia)

The society was founded by six military officers and friends whose aims were, initially, rather vague and dissimilar form each other. When the Russian Czar died, the Union under the leadership of Pavel Pestel organised the Decembrist Uprising of 1825 to prevent his descendents from taking over the power. The uprising saw around three thousand Russians attempting to usurp Czar Nicholas I on his very first day in power which failed with disastrous consequence like censorship for press and education, establishment of spy networks et al. This uprising however was responsible for sowing the seeds for the next revolution, 100 years later in 1917, when the Russian Empire fell.