The book describes the history of the emergence, forms of organization and criminal activities of various kinds of secret societies that were the progenitors of modern terrorist organizations: Spartan cryptians, Hebrew Sicarii, Arab assassins, secret judges "feme" in medieval and later in Nazi Germany, American Ku Klux Klan, Irish Fenians, Fedayins Saddam and A separate chapter is devoted to Russian organizations, such as: "Narodnaya Volya" and the opposing "Sacred Squad," which is credited with the murder of commander Skobelev and composer Tchaikovsky.