Georgi Plekhanov Гео́ргий Плеха́нов | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 11 December 1856 Gudalovka, Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 30 May 1918 Terijoki, Finland |
| Nationality | Tatar |
| Political orientation | Marxism Opportunism |
Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (11 December 1856 – 30 May 1918) was a Russian Marxist.
Early life
Plekhanov was formerly a Narodnik before he studied Marxism abroad. In 1883, he founded Emancipation of Labour, the first Russian Marxist group, while in exile in Switzerland. He criticized the idealist Narodniks, who focused on terrorism and individual assassinations and rejected the proletariat's role in favor of the peasantry.[1]
Split from Bolsheviks
Plekhanov rejected Lenin's demand for nationalization of land. He sided with Lenin at the second RSDLP Congress in 1902, but later made concessions to the Mensheviks in an attempt to avoid a split in the party. He helped the Mensheviks take control of Iskra, the party newspaper.[2] During the 1905 Russian revolution, he cooperated with the liberal bourgeoisie instead of the proletariat and peasants.[3] In 1912, Plekhanov and some of the Mensheviks formed an alliance with the Bolsheviks against Trotsky's August Bloc.[4]
References
- ↑ Joseph Stalin (1939). History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): 'The Struggle for the Creation of a Social-Democratic Labour Party in Russia'. [MIA]
- ↑ Joseph Stalin (1939). History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): 'Formation of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. Appearance of the Bolshevik and the Menshevik Groups within the Party'. [MIA]
- ↑ Joseph Stalin (1939). History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): 'The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the Period of the Russo-Japanese War and the First Russian Revolution'. [MIA]
- ↑ Joseph Stalin (1939). History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): 'The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks in the Period of the Stolypin Reaction. The Bolsheviks Constitute Themselves an Independent Marxist Party'. [MIA]