Georgi Plekhanov

Georgi Plekhanov (1856–1918) was a Russian revolutionary and Marxist theorist who helped introduce Marxism to Russian socialists and co-founded the Emancipation of Labour group.

Vera Zasulich: Vera Zasulich was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and Marxist associated with the Emancipation of Labour group. She joined Plekhanov in founding the group and later became a prominent Menshevik.
Historical materialism: Historical materialism explains social change through material conditions, economic relations, and conflicts between classes. Plekhanov made this account of historical development central to his Marxist writings.
Emancipation of Labour: The Emancipation of Labour group was a Russian Marxist organization founded in Geneva in 1883. Plekhanov co-founded it to translate Marxist works and promote Marxism among Russian socialists.
Bolsheviks: The Bolsheviks were the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party faction led by Lenin before becoming an independent party. Plekhanov opposed their centralized party model and their seizure of power in 1917.
Pavel Axelrod: Pavel Axelrod was a Russian Marxist theorist and revolutionary who helped found the Emancipation of Labour group. His long collaboration with Plekhanov connected émigré Marxism to Russian socialist organizing.
Dialectical materialism: Dialectical materialism is a Marxist philosophy that applies dialectical reasoning to material reality and change. Plekhanov helped formulate this philosophical tradition and popularize it among Russian Marxists.
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was a Marxist political party founded in 1898. Plekhanov helped lay the ideological groundwork for the party and took part in its 1903 congress.
Narodnaya Volya: Narodnaya Volya was a Russian revolutionary organization that used political assassination against autocracy. Plekhanov’s early revolutionary milieu included populist methods he later rejected for Marxist politics.
Vladimir Lenin: Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionary and Marxist leader who headed the Bolshevik faction. Their early intellectual alliance gave way to conflict over party strategy and the 1917 revolutions.
Class struggle: Class struggle is conflict between social classes over power, resources, and the organization of society. Plekhanov treated class relations as a driving force in Russia’s historical transformation.

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Marxist historiographyRelated: His writings systematized materialist explanations of history for later Marxist thinkers.