The Origin of Russian Marxism

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the origins of Russian Marxism that originated from the theories and writings of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels and which called for the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of rule by the proletariat. The paper relates that, although Marx's intended audience had always been primarily the working class people of Europe, especially in Germany, it was the Russian Marxists who were the first to lead a successful revolution against capitalism.

From the Paper:

"Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto had a profound influence on the origins and development of Russian Marxism. These books described why the exploited working classes of capitalistic societies would suffer from alienation, rise up against the middle classes, and overthrow the system of capitalism. Then, according to Marx and Engels, after a brief period of rule by the dictatorship of the proletariat, the classless
society of communism would emerge. (Marx and Engels 99-102)
"The Communist Manifesto was basically a written version of everything Marx had been saying for years. Although it was Russian Marxists who were the first to lead a successful revolution against capitalism, Marx's intended audience had always been primarily the working class people of Europe, especially in Germany, and he spared no effort to incite them with his inflammatory rhetoric of class warfare. His intention was to persuade the workers of Germany that revolution was not only the sole answer to their oppression and misery, it was historically inevitable because of the scientific laws of history.
"The Communist Manifesto was published in February 1848 in order to fan the flames of revolt which were then smoldering across Europe. Marx had declared that Germany should be the chief focus of Communist interest because the proletariat in that country was more developed than it had been when either the French or English bourgeoisie had struggled for their independence. He believed that the proletarian revolution would arrive first in Germany, so when unrest broke out there in March of 1848, he traveled with much anticipation to the Rhineland to observe unfolding events."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carr, Edward. The Bolshevik Revolution, 1917-1923. New York: W. W. Norton, 1985.
• Marx, Karl and Engels, Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet, 1998.
• _ _ _. Das Kapital. New York: Gateway Editions, 2007.
• O'Mahoney, John. "How Russian Marxism Began." Worker's Liberty. Online. Available: http://www.workersliberty.org/node/1455. 10 March 2007.
• Service, Robert. Lenin: A Biography. New York: Belknap, 2002.

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