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John Biggart

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John Biggart MA, BLitt, PhD, took his first degrees in the University of Glasgow and his doctorate in the University of East Anglia where he taught the history of Russia, of Poland, and of the Czechs and Slovaks. In 2000 he diversified into technical assistance in the Russian Federation, mainly in the field of public finance reform. He is currently an independent researcher studying a) the history of the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDRP), in particular the ideas and political career of Aleksander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov (Malinovsky) 1873-1928; and b) the history of Taylorism and the Scientific Organization of Labour in Russia, in particular the ideas and career of Sergei Stepanovich Chakhotin (Tchakhotine) 1883-1973.

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Papers by John Biggart

Bogdanov and His Work

Bogdanov and His Work, 1998

RSDRP DELEGATES AT THE COPENHAGEN CONGRESS OF THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL: WHO WAS WHO?

9 For Kamenev's list, located in AMSAB-ISG, Folder 625.2810, see Appendix A. fKamenev's list was ... more 9 For Kamenev's list, located in AMSAB-ISG, Folder 625.2810, see Appendix A. fKamenev's list was reproduced faithfully in the consolidated list of the Russian "Section" in Huitième Congrès... (1911), 28-29. See Appendix B. 17 Partly owing to police harassment, partly because a number of Mensheviks had refused to take part, a Russia-based "Collegium" of the Central Committee that had also been approved by the January Plenum never met in full quorum.

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s Sociology of the Arts

Cultural science, Dec 1, 2021

Bogdanov, Marx, and the social function of the 1 arts 2 Writing on the relationship between think... more Bogdanov, Marx, and the social function of the 1 arts 2 Writing on the relationship between thinking and economic activity, Friedrich Engels, in a letter to Joseph Bloch of 1890, pointed out that Marx's understanding of this relationship was not to be understood as a form of uni-directional determinism. "The economic situation", he wrote, "is the basis, but the various elements of the superstructure … political, juristic, philosophical theories, religious views, and their further development into systems of dogmas-also exercise their influence upon the course of the historical struggles and in many cases preponderate in determining their form. " 3 We do not know whether Bogdanov had read this letter, but Engels's clarification was in any case consistent with Bogdanov's own understanding of Marx, as he made clear in a number of his philosophical 1 See Sochor (1998); Mally (1990); White (2019b). 2 In this paper, particular terms used by Bogdanov, as well as quotations from his works, are indicated by double inverted commas. 3 Engels to Joseph Bloch, London, 21-22 September 1890. The letter was first published in Der sozialistische Akademiker, 19 (Berlin, 1895). See Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels 2001: 33-37. I am obliged to James D. White for indicating the source of the original publication.

Book Review: V. I. Nevskii – Participant in and historian of the first Russian revolution by M. V. Zelenov

European History Quarterly, 2023

Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors: From the Soviet Union to Russia, the Pipedream Meets Reality by Leonid Sinelnikov

European History Quarterly

Спорное дело о долге Анне Ивановне Умновой. Эпизод из финансовой истории большевиков (1907-1910)

Ekonomicheskaya politika, 2023

During the years in emigration that followed the abortive revolution of 1905 and the political re... more During the years in emigration that followed the abortive revolution of 1905 and the political repres¬sion that accelerated during 1907, the Bolshevik and Menshevik fractions of the RSDRP experienced chronic financial difficulties. Subscriptions became an unreliable source of income and the fractions would attempt to maintain solvency by, inter alia, obtaining donations and loans from benefactors. In June 1907 the notorious robbery at the Tiflis State Bank made for a temporary improvement in the finances of the Bolsheviks, as did the bequest of Nikolay Pavlovich Shmit, income from which was acquired during the years 1908–1911. During the “Meeting of the Expanded Editorial Board of Proletariy” of 21–30 June 1909, a Conflict Commission considered the matter of a loan that had been granted to the Bolshevik Centre in 1907 by Anna Ivanovna Umnova through the agency of Leonid Krasin, and recommended that the loan should be repaid. However, schism in the Bolshevik fraction delayed full repayment until 1910, when the debt was redeemed not by the “Left Bolsheviks” or by the Lenin group, but by the Foreign Bureau (ZBTsK) of a temporarily “united” RSDRP. The case of Umnova provides insight into how the Bolsheviks managed their finances; helps to explain the breakdown in relations between Krasin and Lenin; and illustrates the extent to which Lenin was prepared to disregard collective decision making.

Aleksandr Bogdanov's 'From philosophy to the science of organization' (1921-1924)

This paper describes the circumstances in which Aleksandr Bogdanov wrote ‘From philosophy to orga... more This paper describes the circumstances in which Aleksandr Bogdanov wrote ‘From philosophy to organization science’. It explains how the article was edited by Bogdanov himself, then redacted by the Soviet censorship authority, Glavlit. The introduction is followed by the first translation into English of all variants of the article.

Антиленинский большевизм. Группа РСДРП Вперед

Неизвестный Богданов. Кн. 2.Под ред. Н.С. Антоновой, Н.В. Дроздовой. М.: АИРО-ХХ, 1995

Introduction to The Unknown Bogdanov, Book 2. Editors N.S. Antonova and N.V. Drozdova. Moscow: “A... more

Бухарин, культурная революция и истоки Сталинизма

Отечественная история, 1994

Review: “Smoke and Mirrors: From the Soviet Union to Russia, the Pipedream Meets Reality”, by Leonid Sinelnikov

European History Quarterly, 2023

graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute of the Food Industry in 1962 as a food producti... more graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute of the Food Industry in 1962 as a food production mechanical engineer. The tobacco industry being at that time administered by the Food Ministry of the RSFSR, it was not fortuitous that he found his first employment as a shift supervisor in the machine shop of the Yava (Java) tobacco factory, founded in 1856 by the Karaite merchant Samuil Gabay. By June 1966, at the age of 26, he had been appointed Chief Engineer and First Deputy Director of the factory. In 1982 he was appointed Director. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the conversion of Yava-Tabak into an Open Joint Stock Company in which the controlling interest was acquired by British American Tobacco (BAT), he was retained as General Director of the factory but also appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the BAT-Yava company. He left his post as factory Director in 2003 but continued as Chairman of the Board until December 2010, by which time BAT had become the 100 per cent owner of the company. During the final phase of Sinelnikov's career he served as a member of the Russian delegation to the World Health Organization, participating in negotiations that resulted in the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control in May 2003 (the Convention was ratified by the Russian Federation in 2008). Memoirs of the Soviet period and of later years tend, predominantly, to be those of the political élite or the cultural intelligentsia. Sinelnikov's memoir is unusual not only in that it is written by a 'captain of industry', but also in that the author occupied a number of senior positions in a branch of industry, the output of which, cigarettes, were on a par with bread and vodka in their importance to maintaining a stable relationship between government and society (in Soviet times, shortages in the supply of cigarettes could result in civil unrest). The author was a witness to (and at times reluctant participant in) the upheavals of the Khrushchev period, the territorial decentralization of the Sovnarkhoz reform, the return to power of the Ministries and production-branch directorates (glavki), Aleksey Kosygin's abortive attempt to increase productivity through material incentives, and experimentation with the 'Scientific Organization of Labour' (NOT). He then had to endure, during the Brezhnev administration, the hypertrophy of the command-administrative system and the return to party hegemony in social and economic life. Vividly, he describes the difficulties experienced during every attempt to modernize the command economy without undermining the power of the nomenklatura. Of interest are his portraits of influential individuals at different levels of the governing apparatus (the First Secretary of the Frunzenskii raikom, Boris Gryaznov; the Mayors of Moscow, Gavriil Popov and Yurii Luzhkov; the architect of macroeconomic reform, Yegor Gaidar; and the first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin).

Review: ‘The Non-Leninist Bolshevism of A.A. Bogdanov and the Vpered Group: Ideas, Alternatives, Practice’. by A.Yu. Morozova

European History Quarterly, 2021

Historians of the Russian Orthodox Church will find their perspective fully changed; historians o... more Historians of the Russian Orthodox Church will find their perspective fully changed; historians of Russia will gain a greater understanding of the interlocking relationship between religion and politics; and historians of European religion and philosophy will find it difficult to continue leaving the Russian Empire off their maps of Reformation and Enlightenment.

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s Sociology of the Arts

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and... more Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and work. See Sochor (1998); Mally (1990); White (2019b). The purpose of the present article is to situate his ideas on the social function of the arts within the framework of his theory of culture. I point out that, whereas in his general theory of social consciousness Bogdanov acknowledged his indebtedness to Marx, he considered that in respect of the arts he had improved on Marx, who had viewed the arts as a mere “embellishment of life”. I argue that for Bogdanov, “proletarian culture” was not the working class “mentalité” of his time, but a state of mind that with the assistance of his brainchild, the Proletarian Cultural-Educational Organization, would evolve in the direction of a collectivist, “all-human”, culture. I explain that the didacticism of this approach antagonized a number of writers of proletarian origin. This article is based on works by Bogdanov, few of which have been re...

Bogdanov: his tributes to Marx and Lassalle

In February 1913 Aleksandr Bogdanov, then resident in Belgium and France, agreed to be a regular ... more In February 1913 Aleksandr Bogdanov, then resident in Belgium and France, agreed to be a regular contributor to the St. Petersburg newspaper, Pravda, and in April 1913 to submit works to an associated social-democratic publishing house, Priboi. Whereas Bogdanov’s exclusion from Pravda by the end of 1913 can be attributed to Lenin’s having acquired influence over the paper’s editorial board, different circumstances were responsible for his dispute, the following year, with Priboi. These included problems of epistolary communication, police censorship, and Bogdanov’s mistaken conviction that he was being discriminated against by Priboi, as he had been by Pravda. This article traces the development of Bogdanov’s relations with Priboi, provides translations of commemoratory articles that he contributed on Karl Marx and Ferdinand Lassalle, and examines the publishing history of these articles.

Bukharin and the persecution of Bogdanov: three documents

I here present two articles of Nikolai Bukharin of 1921 that have not previously been published i... more I here present two articles of Nikolai Bukharin of 1921 that have not previously been published in English. The reply of Aleksandr Bogdanov to the first article, versions of which were published in Russia in 1990 and 1995, has not hitherto been published in English. In my introduction I explain how Bukharin's denunciation led Bogdanov to end his practical involvement with the Proletkult. Bukharin's labelling of Bogdanov as a "Menshevik" fed into a campaign that resulted in Bogdanov's arrest by the GPU in 1923. NB: further annotation was added on 23/04/2022.

Introduction to Eisenstein's 'Cinema of the Masses' (1927)

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

A new translation by Richard Abraham of Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Cinema of the Masses’ (‘Mass Movies... more

Aleksandr Bogdanov's Sociology of the Arts

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and... more Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and work. The purpose of the present article is to situate his ideas on the social function of the arts within the framework of his theory of culture. I point out that, whereas in his general theory of social consciousness Bogdanov acknowledged his indebtedness to Marx, he considered that in respect of the arts he had improved on Marx, who had viewed the arts as a mere “embellish¬ment of life”. I argue that for Bogdanov, “proletarian culture” was not the working class “mentalité” of his time, but a state of mind that, with the support of his brainchild, the Proletarian Cultural- Educational Organization, would evolve in the direction of a collectivist, “all-human”, culture. I explain that the didacticism of this approach antagonized a number of writers of working-class origin. This article is based on works by Bogdanov, few of which have been re-published in post-Soviet Russia and most of which are not available in other languages. It will enable culturologists and others to include Bogdanov in the history of the sociology of the arts, an exercise that has hitherto been impeded by Soviet censorship of his works, under-tuition of the Russian language, and a scarcity of relevant translations.

Sergei Eisenstein in the Proletkult

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

In their respective fields, Aleksandr Bogdanov and Sergey Eisenstein made a radical break with tr... more In their respective fields, Aleksandr Bogdanov and Sergey Eisenstein made a radical break with traditional modes of thought. Both sought to bring the findings of modern science into their respective disciplines. We examine some of the theoretical issues that exercised Sergey Eisenstein during the years 1920-1924 when he worked in the Russian Proletarian Cultural-Educational Organization, of which Bogdanov was one of the founders. We ask how far Eisenstein was influenced by Marxism and by the ideas of Bogdanov. We explain the departure of Eisenstein from the Proletkult in terms of the unacceptability of Eisenstein's theory and practice in theatre and film and of his political orientation to the Chairman of the Proletkult, Valeriyan Pletnëv, at a time when the Agitprop Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, at Lenin's behest, was taking steps to reduce the scope of activities of the Proletkult, discredit Bogdanov as a thinker, and exclude him from politics.

Marxism and Social Anthropology. A Proletkul't bibliography on the ‘History of Culture’ (1923)

Studies in Soviet Thought 24 (1982), 1—9, 89—93.

The bibliography presented here was reconstituted from a microfilmed typescript in the archive of... more The bibliography presented here was reconstituted from a microfilmed typescript in the archive of the Russian Proletarian Cultural-Educational Association (Proletkul't) in the Central State Archive on Literature and Art (RGALI formerly TsGAL1) in Moscow. The document sheds light on the history of Marxist ideas in Russia and the West.

Alexander Bogdanov and the suppression of "Collectivism"

Alexander Bogdanov and the suppression of "Collectivism", 2021

, a motion was put before a general meeting of members of the Socialist Academy that the institut... more , a motion was put before a general meeting of members of the Socialist Academy that the institution should be renamed "The Communist Academy". 1 In the course of debate the historian M.N. Pokrovsky reminded members that when this had been proposed in 1918 (when the Academy had been founded), the Left-Socialist Revolutionaries had objected on the grounds that such a title would deter them from becoming members. 2 Others who were working in Soviet institutions but were not Communists had also raised objections. It had therefore been decided to name the Academy 'Socialist', and individuals as varied as Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely had felt able to join. However, Pokrovsky went on, the Academy had now decided to include the study of 'Leninism" in its curriculum. He agreed with Bukharin that Leninism was a distinct phase in the development of Marxism. 3 As members of the Communist Party they belonged to this phase, and not to the Marxism of Plekhanov or earlier theorists. It therefore now made sense to adopt the title "Communist Academy". This would set the Academy apart from institutions in Western Europe where the emphasis was still on socialism. In this respect, even the designation [Soviet Socialist] Republic was out of step with the times. 4 The eminent historian of Marxism, D.B. Ryazanov, agreed. He recalled having proposed the name change in 1919, but on different grounds. He was neither a Bolshevik, nor a Menshevik nor a Leninist: he considered himself to be a Marxist and * My thanks to Fabian Tompsett and James D. White for scrutinizing and commenting on this paper.

Bukharin's Theory of Cultural Revolution

‘Bukharin’s Theory of Cultural Revolution’, in The Ideas of Nikolai Bukharin. Edited and Introduced by Anthony Kemp-Welch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992

Bogdanov and His Work

Bogdanov and His Work, 1998

RSDRP DELEGATES AT THE COPENHAGEN CONGRESS OF THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL: WHO WAS WHO?

9 For Kamenev's list, located in AMSAB-ISG, Folder 625.2810, see Appendix A. fKamenev's list was ... more 9 For Kamenev's list, located in AMSAB-ISG, Folder 625.2810, see Appendix A. fKamenev's list was reproduced faithfully in the consolidated list of the Russian "Section" in Huitième Congrès... (1911), 28-29. See Appendix B. 17 Partly owing to police harassment, partly because a number of Mensheviks had refused to take part, a Russia-based "Collegium" of the Central Committee that had also been approved by the January Plenum never met in full quorum.

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s Sociology of the Arts

Cultural science, Dec 1, 2021

Bogdanov, Marx, and the social function of the 1 arts 2 Writing on the relationship between think... more Bogdanov, Marx, and the social function of the 1 arts 2 Writing on the relationship between thinking and economic activity, Friedrich Engels, in a letter to Joseph Bloch of 1890, pointed out that Marx's understanding of this relationship was not to be understood as a form of uni-directional determinism. "The economic situation", he wrote, "is the basis, but the various elements of the superstructure … political, juristic, philosophical theories, religious views, and their further development into systems of dogmas-also exercise their influence upon the course of the historical struggles and in many cases preponderate in determining their form. " 3 We do not know whether Bogdanov had read this letter, but Engels's clarification was in any case consistent with Bogdanov's own understanding of Marx, as he made clear in a number of his philosophical 1 See Sochor (1998); Mally (1990); White (2019b). 2 In this paper, particular terms used by Bogdanov, as well as quotations from his works, are indicated by double inverted commas. 3 Engels to Joseph Bloch, London, 21-22 September 1890. The letter was first published in Der sozialistische Akademiker, 19 (Berlin, 1895). See Marx, Karl and Frederick Engels 2001: 33-37. I am obliged to James D. White for indicating the source of the original publication.

Book Review: V. I. Nevskii – Participant in and historian of the first Russian revolution by M. V. Zelenov

European History Quarterly, 2023

Book Review: Smoke and Mirrors: From the Soviet Union to Russia, the Pipedream Meets Reality by Leonid Sinelnikov

European History Quarterly

Спорное дело о долге Анне Ивановне Умновой. Эпизод из финансовой истории большевиков (1907-1910)

Ekonomicheskaya politika, 2023

During the years in emigration that followed the abortive revolution of 1905 and the political re... more During the years in emigration that followed the abortive revolution of 1905 and the political repres¬sion that accelerated during 1907, the Bolshevik and Menshevik fractions of the RSDRP experienced chronic financial difficulties. Subscriptions became an unreliable source of income and the fractions would attempt to maintain solvency by, inter alia, obtaining donations and loans from benefactors. In June 1907 the notorious robbery at the Tiflis State Bank made for a temporary improvement in the finances of the Bolsheviks, as did the bequest of Nikolay Pavlovich Shmit, income from which was acquired during the years 1908–1911. During the “Meeting of the Expanded Editorial Board of Proletariy” of 21–30 June 1909, a Conflict Commission considered the matter of a loan that had been granted to the Bolshevik Centre in 1907 by Anna Ivanovna Umnova through the agency of Leonid Krasin, and recommended that the loan should be repaid. However, schism in the Bolshevik fraction delayed full repayment until 1910, when the debt was redeemed not by the “Left Bolsheviks” or by the Lenin group, but by the Foreign Bureau (ZBTsK) of a temporarily “united” RSDRP. The case of Umnova provides insight into how the Bolsheviks managed their finances; helps to explain the breakdown in relations between Krasin and Lenin; and illustrates the extent to which Lenin was prepared to disregard collective decision making.

Aleksandr Bogdanov's 'From philosophy to the science of organization' (1921-1924)

This paper describes the circumstances in which Aleksandr Bogdanov wrote ‘From philosophy to orga... more This paper describes the circumstances in which Aleksandr Bogdanov wrote ‘From philosophy to organization science’. It explains how the article was edited by Bogdanov himself, then redacted by the Soviet censorship authority, Glavlit. The introduction is followed by the first translation into English of all variants of the article.

Антиленинский большевизм. Группа РСДРП Вперед

Неизвестный Богданов. Кн. 2.Под ред. Н.С. Антоновой, Н.В. Дроздовой. М.: АИРО-ХХ, 1995

Introduction to The Unknown Bogdanov, Book 2. Editors N.S. Antonova and N.V. Drozdova. Moscow: “A... more

Бухарин, культурная революция и истоки Сталинизма

Отечественная история, 1994

Review: “Smoke and Mirrors: From the Soviet Union to Russia, the Pipedream Meets Reality”, by Leonid Sinelnikov

European History Quarterly, 2023

graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute of the Food Industry in 1962 as a food producti... more graduated from the Moscow Technological Institute of the Food Industry in 1962 as a food production mechanical engineer. The tobacco industry being at that time administered by the Food Ministry of the RSFSR, it was not fortuitous that he found his first employment as a shift supervisor in the machine shop of the Yava (Java) tobacco factory, founded in 1856 by the Karaite merchant Samuil Gabay. By June 1966, at the age of 26, he had been appointed Chief Engineer and First Deputy Director of the factory. In 1982 he was appointed Director. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the conversion of Yava-Tabak into an Open Joint Stock Company in which the controlling interest was acquired by British American Tobacco (BAT), he was retained as General Director of the factory but also appointed Chair of the Board of Directors of the BAT-Yava company. He left his post as factory Director in 2003 but continued as Chairman of the Board until December 2010, by which time BAT had become the 100 per cent owner of the company. During the final phase of Sinelnikov's career he served as a member of the Russian delegation to the World Health Organization, participating in negotiations that resulted in the WHO Convention on Tobacco Control in May 2003 (the Convention was ratified by the Russian Federation in 2008). Memoirs of the Soviet period and of later years tend, predominantly, to be those of the political élite or the cultural intelligentsia. Sinelnikov's memoir is unusual not only in that it is written by a 'captain of industry', but also in that the author occupied a number of senior positions in a branch of industry, the output of which, cigarettes, were on a par with bread and vodka in their importance to maintaining a stable relationship between government and society (in Soviet times, shortages in the supply of cigarettes could result in civil unrest). The author was a witness to (and at times reluctant participant in) the upheavals of the Khrushchev period, the territorial decentralization of the Sovnarkhoz reform, the return to power of the Ministries and production-branch directorates (glavki), Aleksey Kosygin's abortive attempt to increase productivity through material incentives, and experimentation with the 'Scientific Organization of Labour' (NOT). He then had to endure, during the Brezhnev administration, the hypertrophy of the command-administrative system and the return to party hegemony in social and economic life. Vividly, he describes the difficulties experienced during every attempt to modernize the command economy without undermining the power of the nomenklatura. Of interest are his portraits of influential individuals at different levels of the governing apparatus (the First Secretary of the Frunzenskii raikom, Boris Gryaznov; the Mayors of Moscow, Gavriil Popov and Yurii Luzhkov; the architect of macroeconomic reform, Yegor Gaidar; and the first President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin).

Review: ‘The Non-Leninist Bolshevism of A.A. Bogdanov and the Vpered Group: Ideas, Alternatives, Practice’. by A.Yu. Morozova

European History Quarterly, 2021

Historians of the Russian Orthodox Church will find their perspective fully changed; historians o... more Historians of the Russian Orthodox Church will find their perspective fully changed; historians of Russia will gain a greater understanding of the interlocking relationship between religion and politics; and historians of European religion and philosophy will find it difficult to continue leaving the Russian Empire off their maps of Reformation and Enlightenment.

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s Sociology of the Arts

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and... more Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and work. See Sochor (1998); Mally (1990); White (2019b). The purpose of the present article is to situate his ideas on the social function of the arts within the framework of his theory of culture. I point out that, whereas in his general theory of social consciousness Bogdanov acknowledged his indebtedness to Marx, he considered that in respect of the arts he had improved on Marx, who had viewed the arts as a mere “embellishment of life”. I argue that for Bogdanov, “proletarian culture” was not the working class “mentalité” of his time, but a state of mind that with the assistance of his brainchild, the Proletarian Cultural-Educational Organization, would evolve in the direction of a collectivist, “all-human”, culture. I explain that the didacticism of this approach antagonized a number of writers of proletarian origin. This article is based on works by Bogdanov, few of which have been re...

Bogdanov: his tributes to Marx and Lassalle

In February 1913 Aleksandr Bogdanov, then resident in Belgium and France, agreed to be a regular ... more In February 1913 Aleksandr Bogdanov, then resident in Belgium and France, agreed to be a regular contributor to the St. Petersburg newspaper, Pravda, and in April 1913 to submit works to an associated social-democratic publishing house, Priboi. Whereas Bogdanov’s exclusion from Pravda by the end of 1913 can be attributed to Lenin’s having acquired influence over the paper’s editorial board, different circumstances were responsible for his dispute, the following year, with Priboi. These included problems of epistolary communication, police censorship, and Bogdanov’s mistaken conviction that he was being discriminated against by Priboi, as he had been by Pravda. This article traces the development of Bogdanov’s relations with Priboi, provides translations of commemoratory articles that he contributed on Karl Marx and Ferdinand Lassalle, and examines the publishing history of these articles.

Bukharin and the persecution of Bogdanov: three documents

I here present two articles of Nikolai Bukharin of 1921 that have not previously been published i... more I here present two articles of Nikolai Bukharin of 1921 that have not previously been published in English. The reply of Aleksandr Bogdanov to the first article, versions of which were published in Russia in 1990 and 1995, has not hitherto been published in English. In my introduction I explain how Bukharin's denunciation led Bogdanov to end his practical involvement with the Proletkult. Bukharin's labelling of Bogdanov as a "Menshevik" fed into a campaign that resulted in Bogdanov's arrest by the GPU in 1923. NB: further annotation was added on 23/04/2022.

Introduction to Eisenstein's 'Cinema of the Masses' (1927)

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

A new translation by Richard Abraham of Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Cinema of the Masses’ (‘Mass Movies... more

Aleksandr Bogdanov's Sociology of the Arts

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and... more Aleksandr Bogdanov’s theory of culture has been outlined in a number of key works on his life and work. The purpose of the present article is to situate his ideas on the social function of the arts within the framework of his theory of culture. I point out that, whereas in his general theory of social consciousness Bogdanov acknowledged his indebtedness to Marx, he considered that in respect of the arts he had improved on Marx, who had viewed the arts as a mere “embellish¬ment of life”. I argue that for Bogdanov, “proletarian culture” was not the working class “mentalité” of his time, but a state of mind that, with the support of his brainchild, the Proletarian Cultural- Educational Organization, would evolve in the direction of a collectivist, “all-human”, culture. I explain that the didacticism of this approach antagonized a number of writers of working-class origin. This article is based on works by Bogdanov, few of which have been re-published in post-Soviet Russia and most of which are not available in other languages. It will enable culturologists and others to include Bogdanov in the history of the sociology of the arts, an exercise that has hitherto been impeded by Soviet censorship of his works, under-tuition of the Russian language, and a scarcity of relevant translations.

Sergei Eisenstein in the Proletkult

Cultural Science Journal, 2021

In their respective fields, Aleksandr Bogdanov and Sergey Eisenstein made a radical break with tr... more In their respective fields, Aleksandr Bogdanov and Sergey Eisenstein made a radical break with traditional modes of thought. Both sought to bring the findings of modern science into their respective disciplines. We examine some of the theoretical issues that exercised Sergey Eisenstein during the years 1920-1924 when he worked in the Russian Proletarian Cultural-Educational Organization, of which Bogdanov was one of the founders. We ask how far Eisenstein was influenced by Marxism and by the ideas of Bogdanov. We explain the departure of Eisenstein from the Proletkult in terms of the unacceptability of Eisenstein's theory and practice in theatre and film and of his political orientation to the Chairman of the Proletkult, Valeriyan Pletnëv, at a time when the Agitprop Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, at Lenin's behest, was taking steps to reduce the scope of activities of the Proletkult, discredit Bogdanov as a thinker, and exclude him from politics.

Marxism and Social Anthropology. A Proletkul't bibliography on the ‘History of Culture’ (1923)

Studies in Soviet Thought 24 (1982), 1—9, 89—93.

The bibliography presented here was reconstituted from a microfilmed typescript in the archive of... more The bibliography presented here was reconstituted from a microfilmed typescript in the archive of the Russian Proletarian Cultural-Educational Association (Proletkul't) in the Central State Archive on Literature and Art (RGALI formerly TsGAL1) in Moscow. The document sheds light on the history of Marxist ideas in Russia and the West.

Alexander Bogdanov and the suppression of "Collectivism"

Alexander Bogdanov and the suppression of "Collectivism", 2021

, a motion was put before a general meeting of members of the Socialist Academy that the institut... more , a motion was put before a general meeting of members of the Socialist Academy that the institution should be renamed "The Communist Academy". 1 In the course of debate the historian M.N. Pokrovsky reminded members that when this had been proposed in 1918 (when the Academy had been founded), the Left-Socialist Revolutionaries had objected on the grounds that such a title would deter them from becoming members. 2 Others who were working in Soviet institutions but were not Communists had also raised objections. It had therefore been decided to name the Academy 'Socialist', and individuals as varied as Alexander Blok and Andrei Bely had felt able to join. However, Pokrovsky went on, the Academy had now decided to include the study of 'Leninism" in its curriculum. He agreed with Bukharin that Leninism was a distinct phase in the development of Marxism. 3 As members of the Communist Party they belonged to this phase, and not to the Marxism of Plekhanov or earlier theorists. It therefore now made sense to adopt the title "Communist Academy". This would set the Academy apart from institutions in Western Europe where the emphasis was still on socialism. In this respect, even the designation [Soviet Socialist] Republic was out of step with the times. 4 The eminent historian of Marxism, D.B. Ryazanov, agreed. He recalled having proposed the name change in 1919, but on different grounds. He was neither a Bolshevik, nor a Menshevik nor a Leninist: he considered himself to be a Marxist and * My thanks to Fabian Tompsett and James D. White for scrutinizing and commenting on this paper.

Bukharin's Theory of Cultural Revolution

‘Bukharin’s Theory of Cultural Revolution’, in The Ideas of Nikolai Bukharin. Edited and Introduced by Anthony Kemp-Welch. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992