Marx and Russia: The Fate of a Doctrine

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Marx and Russia is a chronological account of the evolution of Marxist thought from the publication of Das Kapital in Russian translation to the suppression of independent ideological currents by Stalin at the end of the 1920s. The book demonstrates the progressive emergence of different schools of Marxist thinking in the revolutionary era in Russia. Starting from Marxs own connections with Russian revolutionaries and scholars, James D. White examines the contributions of such figures as Sieber, Plekhanov, Lenin, Bogdanov, Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin to Marxist ideology in Russia. Using primary documents, biographical sketches and a helpful timeline, the book provides a useful guide for students to orientate themselves among the various Marxist ideologies which they encounter in modern Russian history. White also incorporates valuable new research for Russian history specialists in a vital volume for anyone interested in the history of Marxism, Soviet history and the history of Russia across the modern period.

Reviews

This fascinating study should be read by students and scholars of modern Russian history and those with an interest in Marx. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE *
This is a lucid, well-informed, conceptually nuanced, and sensible study of a topic on which these qualities are often in short supply This is a fine book, which will be interesting both to specialists and to students seeking a reliable guide to the ways in which Marxs work was understood and misunderstood in Russia. * The Russian Review *
By building on his years of research ... White has produced the best account to date of how Marxist ideas reached and developed in Russia ... Despite the large amount of material written on Lenin, Trotsky and, to a lesser extent, Plekhanov, Whites straightforward analysis and lucid writing style keep his discussions of these towering individuals fresh and engaging. * European History Quarterly *
An excellent survey of an important historical theme. * Socialist History *
In this beautifully written and thoroughly researched tour de force, White presents the findings of a whole lifes work on several connected themes: Marxs thought, Marx and Russia, Marxs reception in Russia, the Russian and European revolutionary movement, and the Russian Revolution. With characteristic clarity and wit, White demonstrates how inopportune deaths (Marx, Sieber), left the field open for a fundamental misconception of Marxs work to take hold in Russia via Engels, Plekhanov and Lenin. * Ian D. Thatcher, Professor of History, Ulster University, UK *
White is a master of lucid presentation of complex ideas. His new book discusses Karl Marxs (and Friedrich Engelss) thinking on Russia and how the main Russian Marxists (Plekhanov, Lenin, Bogdanov, Trotsky and others) picked up his ideas while providing them with their own twist. The book is packed with new insights and original ideas. It convincingly shows the centrality of Russia in Marxs thought. The study of Russian conditions finally forced him to abandon the idea of capitalism as a universal system destined to absorb the world. The book continues with an elegant expos of the main tenets of the Russian Marxists on workers and intelligentsia; permanent revolution; imperialism; state and democracy; and dialectical philosophy. No doubt, this is the best and most complete introduction to Marxism and Russia in existence. * Erik van Ree, Assistant Professor of European Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands *
James White's Marx and Russia is a major and indispensable contribution to the topic of whether the Soviet Union was Marxist. In easy prose, the author provides the reader with the fate of a doctrine in one country that has worldwide implications to this day. * Paul Zarembka, Professor of Economics, State University of New York, USA *
[A] brilliant exposition ... has much to offer those who have already mastered the original literature and are looking to expand their understanding * Europe-Asia Studies *

Author Bio

James D. White is Honorary Professor in the Department of Central and East European Studies at the University of Glasgow, UK. He is the author of Red Hamlet: The Life and Ideas of Alexander Bogdanov (2018), Lenin: The Practice and Theory of Revolution (2001), Karl Marx and the Intellectual Origins of Dialectical Materialism (1996) and The Russian Revolution 1917-1921 (1994).