This book discusses Marx’s relations with Russia, which have always been ambivalent. In his youth, and indeed a good way into the 1860s, Marx might even be called a “Russophobe.” Around 1870, however, his views on Russia undergo a change; he becomes acquainted with a new kind of Russian radical and revolutionary movement and begins to study Russian. It becomes clear that Marx begins to feel that Russia is some kind of a “touchstone” for his theories. Offering a new and original interpretation of Marx’s theoretical development, Marx’s Russian Moment analyzes the following themes: Marx’s concept of ideology (as developed in the German Ideology) and its fortunes in Russia; Marx’s encounter with Bakunin and Russian nihilism; Marx’s and Engels’s studies of primitive societies; Engels’s views of the developmental perspectives of small Slavic nations; and Marx’s views on Finland, the Russian Grand Duchy. Considering these topics as “case studies,” Oittinen argues that Marx’s encounter with Russia substantially influenced Marx’s (and Engels’s) views not just on current political and economic matters but also on a philosophical and methodological level.

The theories of Karl Marx and the practical existence of the Soviet Union are inseparable in the public imagination, but for all the wrong reasons. This book provides detailed analyses of both Marx’s theory of history and the course of Russian and Soviet development and delivers a new and insightful approach to the relationship between the two. Most analyses of the Soviet Union, from any perspective, focus on trying to explain the failure to establish socialism, giving too much weight to the political pronouncements of the regime. But, for Marx, this approach to historical explanation is back-to-front, it's the political tail wagging the economic dog. When we move our focus from the stated aims of building socialism, and look at what actually happened in Russia from emancipation in the 1860s, through the Soviet era to the 1990s, we can clearly see the patterns which Marx identified as the essential features of the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth. As such, the Soviet experiment forms an important part of Russia’s transition from feudalism to capitalism and provides an excellent example of the underlying forces at play in the course of historical development. Unlearning Marx will surprise Marx’s admirers and his detractors alike, and not only shed new light on Marxism's relationship with the Soviet Union, but on his ongoing relationship with our world.

Praise for MAO, MARX & THE MARKET "This is a gripping tale from start to finish, an extraordinary adventure told by a brilliant and idealistic businessman confronted by political disloyalty and chicanery on an epic scale. LeBaron tells his story with a punch, but his basic instincts of morality and decency shine throughout." --Peter L. Bernstein, President, Peter L. Bernstein, Inc., author of The Power of Gold: The History of an Obsession "An insight-packed thriller summarizing a brilliant contrarian investor s adventures in the two great dramas of our era Russia and China; chock-full of pithy lessons relevant for investors and observers alike." --Graham Allison, Director, Robert and Renee Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University "Dean LeBaron s book on his adventures in Russia and China is a fun read. I recommend it to anyone taking their first or second or third visit to either country for business or pleasure. LeBaron brings out the personal warmth of these countries in terms of their individuals, as well as the obvious complexities of dealing with them." --David Gill, Board Member of several companies involved with Russia, Retired International Finance Corporation Official "This is the fascinating story of Dean LeBaron in his quest to participate right from the start in the opening of China and Russia following the demise of their socialist/ communist regimes. It is the best account of what happened in the emerging market world in the nineties." --Marc Faber, Editor, The Gloom Boom & Doom Report,Managing Director, Marc Faber Limited "Adventure capitalist Dean LeBaron is the Indiana Jones of finance. Follow his escapades in emerging markets and get an insider s view of the birth of capitalism in Russia and China. You ll be amused, entertained, and instructed. Mao, Marx & the Market provides a fascinating insider s view of the creation of market economies with all their attendant travails. A must read." --Bill Miller, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, Legg Mason Funds Management, Inc.

Explores Marx’s attitude to “developing” societies. Includes translations of Marx’s notes from the 1880s, among the most important finds of the last century.

Back in print with a comprehensive new introduction by the author, Lenin, Hegel, and Western Marxism is the classic account of Lenin's extensive writings on Hegel in relationship to his theorization of imperialism, the state, and revolution.

New Russia begins in 1905-07. A revolution which failed was also a moment of truth. By proceeding in a way unexpected by supporters and adversaries alike it offered a dramatic corrective to their understanding of Russia. In what followed Russian history was to be dominated by the transforming efforts of monarchists who learnt that only 'revolution from above' could save their tsardom and by Marxists who, under the impact of revolution which failed, looked anew at Russia and their Marxism. On the opposing sides of the political scale, Stolypin and Lenin came to share a new image of Russia recognisable today as one of a 'developing society', and to act upon that. While Russia began a new century with a revolution, it is equally true that a new century in world history began with the Russian revolution of 1905-07. Since then a new type of society and of revolution have been evident throughout the world. Most of the theoretical tools to grasp those environments and changes were first set in Russia of the period described. The book begins with the forces and elements which came together in the 1905-07 revolution. It then presents and analyses the urban struggle, the still little known peasant war and the relations between those two confrontations. It proceeds to the conclusions drawn from the revolution by the different social classes, parties and leaders and the way this has shaped Russia's future and consequently of the world today, defining also economics and agrarian reforms, developmentism and communism, liberation struggles and anti-insurgencies.

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 Marx's 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.