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Georgi Plekhanov

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Georgi Plekhanov

Гео́ргий Плеха́нов
Born11 December 1856
Gudalovka, Tambov Governorate, Russian Empire
Died30 May 1918
Terijoki, Finland
NationalityTatar
Political orientationMarxism
Opportunism


Georgi Valentinovich Plekhanov (11 December 1856 – 30 May 1918) was a Russian Marxist.

Early life[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]