Abstrakt
The study deals with the establishment and development of the Left-wing terrorist groups in the first years of their existence in 1968 - 1974. The beginnings of terrorism are put in context of the social situation in Italy in the end of 1960s (the formation of the extra-parliamentary opposition and the situation in the tertiary education) and of the political history of the post-war Italy (the relations of the Christian Democracy and the Communist Party of Italy).
The study also deals with the characteristics of the most important terrorist groups: the Groups of Partisan Action of the editor Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, the Workers' Power, the Continuous Struggle, the October 22 Group, and also the Group of the Apartment and the Political Metropolitan Collective, whose members formed the Red Brigades. These groups are characterized by their position in the student-workers' movement, ideological or organizational specifics, particular actions and their demise or transformation in the end of the defined period.