Philosophers' ship (#117)
When you hear "Philosopher's ship", you might think about some sort of thought experiment, like the one about the ship of Theseus (remember fact #38?).
But this one is about a very real ship, a ship full of philosophers.
We are in Russia in the year 1922 under a Bolshevist government presided by Lenin. The terror and suppression of free speech hasn't started yet. But the Marxist-Leninist ideology was prevailing and criticism or opposition wasn't tolerated. And Russia had tons of great thinkers, who were perfectly able to ask unpleasant questions. What to do with them? The government claimed to have only three options: Shoot them, send them to Siberia or exile them.
In the end, they performed an act of "prudent humanity" (according to Trotsky) and chose the most "humanitarian" option: deportation. And to make sure they didn't come back, the thinkers had to sign a paper which stated that they would get shot upon their return.
That's why in 1922, two rented German steamships – the Oberbürgermeister Haken and the Preussen – shipped away the entire Russian intelligentsia of that time.