World Bolshevism

"Beginning in 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was divided into opposing sections, one led by Vladimir Lenin, the other by Iulii Martov. Until 1917, both Lenin and Martov were equally prominent figures in Russian politics. Martov, an anti-war socialist intellectual from a Jewish background, wrote prolifically for a number of important publications inside and outside Russia. Although the books, articles, and pamphlets written by Lenin during the same period remain readily available today, those by Martov are extremely hard to find in their original Russian or in translation. Following Martov’s untimely death in 1923, a Russian-language edition of one of his books, World Bolshevism, was published. But it was only in 2000, after decades of extreme censorship, that parts of the book were legally published in Russia. In English, this work has reached the public in pieces, often as a part of pamphlets with limited circulation. This edition, which includes an introduction by Paul Kellogg that contextualizes the work and reintroduces Martov as an important thinker to a twenty-first century readership, makes Martov’s work available in its complete form for the first time in a hundred years."-- Provided by publisher "Beginning in 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was divided into opposing sections, one led by Vladimir Lenin, the other by Iulii Martov. Until 1917, both Lenin and Martov were equally prominent figures in Russian politics. Martov, an anti-war socialist intellectual from a Jewish background, wrote prolifically for a number of important publications inside and outside Russia. Although the books, articles, and pamphlets written by Lenin during the same period remain readily available today, those by Martov are extremely hard to find in their original Russian or in translation. Following Martov's untimely death in 1923, a Russian-language edition of one of his books, World Bolshevism, was published. But it was only in 2000, after decades of extreme censorship, that parts of the book were legally published in Russia. In English, this work has reached the public in pieces, often as a part of pamphlets with limited circulation. This edition, which includes an introduction by Paul Kellogg that contextualizes the work and reintroduces Martov as an important thinker to a twenty-first century readership, makes Martov's work available in its complete form for the first time in a hundred years."-- Résumé de l'éditeur Front Matter Contents Introduction: The Lost Voice of Iulii Martov World Bolshevism A Note on the Translation Foreword to the 1923 Russian-language Edition I. The Roots of World Bolshevism 1. Bolshevism as a World Phenomenon 2. The Legacy of War 3. The Psychology of Bolshevism 4. The Crisis of Proletarian Consciousness 5. A Step Backward II. The Ideology of “Sovietism” 6. The Mysticism of the Soviet System 7. Dictatorship of a Minority 8. Dictatorship over the Proletariat 9. Metaphysical Materialism and Dialectical Materialism III. Decomposition or Conquest of the State? 10. Marx and the State 11. The Commune of 1871 12. Marx and the Commune Appendix Marx and the Problem of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat Notes Introduction I. The Roots of World Bolshevism II. The Ideology of “Sovietism” III. Decomposition or Conquest of the State? Appendix: Marx and the Problem of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat Bibliography Index Iulli Martov, Lenin's contemporary and a prominent figure in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, was a prolific writer whose work was lost to history after decades of censorship. This translation of his 1919 monograph about the pivotal role of a temporary new class of peasants-in-uniform during the Russian Revolution makes his work available in English for the first time in a hundred years