In Defence of Materialism The Development of the Monist View of History

In January 1895, Plekhanov published his most famous work, The Development of the Monist View of History. The book passed the censors of the Russian government and was legally published in Russia. Plekhanov wrote the book under the pseudonym Beltov and admitted to the use of the "purposely clumsy" name for the book in order to deceive the Russian censors. Plekhanov's book became a very popular defense of the materialistic conception of history. Indeed, Lenin would later comment that Plekhanov's book "helped educate a whole generation of Russian Marxists." Friedrich Engels commented in a 30 January 1895 letter to Vera Zasulich that Plekhanov's book had been published at a most opportune time.