Russian Marxism as a philosophical, social and political movement arose at the end of the 19th century, after the creation of the Emancipation of Labor group, headed by G. V. Plekhanov. Breaking with the reactionary ideas of populism, the first Russian Marxists laid the foundation for the establishment of dialectical and historical materialism on Russian soil.
The first Russian Marxist G. V. Plekhanov
Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov is considered to be the first Russian Marxist. In 1883, together with a group of comrades-in-arms, carried away by the ideas of Marx and Engels, Plekhanov created an organization called the Emancipation of Labor. Deeply delving into the works of the founders of the scientific ideology of the proletariat, Russian Marxists began an irreconcilable struggle with the philosophical ideas of populism, which stood on idealistic positions.
During his life G. V. Plekhanov created several fundamental philosophical works in which he developed the ideas of dialectical materialism. Plekhanov's main works on the philosophy of Marxism are "On the development of a monistic view of history" and "Fundamental questions of Marxism." The author attached particular importance to the combination of the dialectical method in comprehending history and materialistic views on society.
IN AND. Lenin as the greatest theorist of Marxism
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) is rightfully considered the largest and globally recognized authority in the field of Marxist philosophy. His revolutionary activities began in the middle of the last decade of the 19th century. Lenin spent a lot of time studying Marx's legacy in depth, focusing on his materialistic philosophy. The future leader of the proletariat rightly believed that the practice of the revolutionary movement must have a solid philosophical foundation.
Lenin was completely imbued with the ideas of Marx that the entire history of philosophical views consisted of an irreconcilable struggle between idealism and materialism. The leader of the Russian Marxists comprehensively and deeply worked out the materialist theory of knowledge, which took the form of Lenin's theory of reflection. Lenin waged the propaganda of Marxist ideas in a continuous struggle against idealists and those of his comrades-in-arms who tried to distort the principles of historical and dialectical materialism. Lenin is the author of a number of philosophical works, of which the book "Materialism and Empirio-criticism" is considered the main one.
The philosophical views of A. V. Lunacharsky
Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky, a prominent figure in the social democratic movement of pre-revolutionary Russia, also contributed to the development of Marxist philosophy. It should be noted, however, that in his views he was not always consistent, for which he was subjected to just and merciless criticism from Lenin. After the defeat of the first Russian revolution, Lunacharsky even slipped into the position of Machism, an eclectic philosophical trend that opposed itself to the materialist worldview. At one time he also tried to combine Marxism with religion.
Subsequently, Lunacharsky revised his philosophical views, turning towards classical Marxism. He penned a number of works, which covered the issues of philosophical understanding of religion, aesthetics and proletarian culture. With the beginning of the Soviet stage in Russian philosophy A. V. Lunacharsky moved away from theoretical research and began to deal with issues related to education and culture.
