Marxist Historian

Marxist Historian, known in Russian as Istorik-marksist, was a Soviet scientific and historical journal published in Moscow from 1926 to 1941. It was established as a major periodical of Marxist historical scholarship and served as a forum for research articles, conference reports, documentary materials, reviews, teaching methodology, and official statements concerning the organization of historical science and education in the Soviet Union. The journal covered both national and world history, with particular emphasis on the history of the Russian revolutionary movement, the October Revolution, the peoples of the Soviet Union, the development of capitalism, the history of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), and the international workers’ and communist movements. Its international coverage included the French Revolution, nineteenth-century European revolutions, the Paris Commune, imperialism, colonial and national-liberation movements, and selected subjects in British, French, German, Latin American, Asian, ancient, and medieval history. In its later years, it expanded its treatment of feudalism, ethnography, archaeology, auxiliary historical disciplines, and the ancient and medieval worlds. The periodical was closely connected with Soviet state and party institutions. From 1926 to 1931 it was associated with the Society of Marxist Historians and the Institute of History of the Communist Academy. From 1936 to 1941 it was published by the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. The Press Department and the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) provided ideological and organizational support, including guidance concerning the editorial board and the journal’s treatment of historical literature. The journal also reported on the work of the Society of Marxist Historians, the Communist Academy, research institutes, and university history faculties. Its principal departments were articles, reports, materials, history teaching, criticism and bibliography, and chronicle. Research articles generally occupied the largest share of the publication, while reviews formed a substantial second component. The review section assessed Soviet and foreign historical works, textbooks, documentary editions, memoirs, and methodological publications, often evaluating source criticism, editorial practice, translation, documentary selection, and ideological position. The publication participated in preparing and conducting the First All-Union Conference of Marxist Historians and hosted or reflected major scholarly debates on the periodization of world history, Kievan Rus, the formation of the Russian state, absolutism and autocracy, national-identity formation, and the interpretation of revolutionary history. Over its fifteen-year run, 94 issues were published. Frequency varied by year, including six issues in several years and twelve in 1935 and 1940. The journal ended in 1941 when it was merged with Historical Journal. It is remembered as an important institutional outlet for the consolidation and dissemination of the Marxist-Leninist interpretation of history in Soviet historical scholarship, while also functioning within the political and ideological constraints of the period.

The first issue of Marxist Historian appeared in 1926, and its arrival was noted in Pravda and Bolshevik. The journal was created as a publication of the Society of Marxist Historians at the Communist Academy and its Institute of History. Its early institutional role was broader than that of a conventional research periodical: it published studies and reviews while also recording the activities of historical organizations, reporting on scholarly meetings, and helping coordinate the development of Soviet historical publishing. Party and state press-propaganda bodies supported the journal and influenced its editorial work, including the review of textbooks, teaching aids, and current historical literature. The publication also prepared analytical information about historical journals, their authorship, editorial arrangements, circulation, and subject matter. During 1926–1931, the journal’s institutional environment was shaped by the Society of Marxist Historians, the Communist Academy, and the Academy’s Institute of History. The Institute’s research covered the history of the Soviet working class and the peoples of the Soviet Union, as well as Western history, imperialism, the Second International, and revolutionary movements. Between 1929 and 1935, employees of the Institute of History contributed approximately 65–70 percent of the journal’s material, according to the reference account. Marxist Historian also took part in organizing the First All-Union Conference of Marxist Historians and published reports and revised proceedings associated with the Society and the Communist Academy. Its editorial structure included research articles, reports, materials, history teaching, criticism and bibliography, and chronicle. Articles were the dominant form, commonly addressing the Russian revolutions, the revolutionary movement of the nineteenth century, Soviet social and economic history, and the history of the Communist Party. World-history coverage dealt with the French Revolution, European revolutionary movements, the Paris Commune, international socialism and communism, and anticolonial struggles. The journal initially concentrated on modern history, partly because Soviet institutions had relatively few specialists in contemporary historical subjects. From the middle of the 1930s, however, it broadened its scope to include ancient and medieval history, feudalism, ethnography, archaeology, and auxiliary historical disciplines. Its treatment of Eastern history remained comparatively limited, although it published work on national-liberation movements and later added studies of ancient and medieval Eastern societies. The criticism and bibliography section reviewed monographs, articles, textbooks, documentary collections, memoirs, and works on historical methodology. Reviews examined not only interpretation but also source reliability, documentary selection, preservation of original wording, translation, editorial notes, indexes, and publication standards. Foreign historiography was also discussed, including works on European revolutions, international relations, Marx and Engels, and the workers’ movement. The journal’s reviews could be polemical, criticizing bourgeois historiography, Nazi publications, émigré memoir literature, and positions regarded as hostile to Marxism-Leninism. In 1936, publication passed to the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. The transition brought administrative friction between the editorial board and the institute’s leadership. Reports in 1938 complained that only a narrow group of authors was actively engaged with the journal and that the institute’s own staff supplied a relatively small share of contributors. At the same time, the periodical remained involved in major debates over the periodization of world history, Kievan Rus, the emergence of the Russian state, absolutism, autocracy, and the formation of Belarusian and Ukrainian nationalities. It also printed sections of forthcoming historical monographs and reviewed the work of prominent Soviet historians. A recurring later feature, On the Front of Historical Science, carried party and government decisions relating to historical education, along with reports from research institutes and universities. Publication continued until 1941. Across its fifteen years, the journal issued 94 numbers, with frequency varying between six and twelve issues annually. It was then merged with Historical Journal, bringing its independent publication history to an end. Its historical significance lies in its dual function: it was a substantial scholarly forum for research and source criticism, but also an instrument for establishing and promoting the official Marxist-Leninist framework within Soviet historical science.

• 1941

  Merger with Historical Journal

  [1]Marxist Historianen.wikipedia.org

  The journal ceased independent publication after being merged with Historical Journal.

• 1936

  Publication transferred to the Academy of Sciences

  [1]Marxist Historianen.wikipedia.org

  The Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union became the journal’s publishing institution.

• 1931

  End of the first institutional phase

  [1]Marxist Historianen.wikipedia.org

  The journal’s period as a publication of the Society of Marxist Historians and the Institute of History of the Communist Academy concluded after 1931.

• 1926

  Launch of the journal

  [1]Marxist Historianen.wikipedia.org

  Marxist Historian began publication in Moscow. Its first issue was publicly noted in Pravda and Bolshevik and the journal was connected with the Society of Marxist Historians and the Communist Academy.

A central Soviet periodical for Marxist historical scholarship and the institutional discussion of historical research, education, and historiography.

• Scholarly periodical · 1926

  Marxist Historian journal

  The core publication was a Soviet historical journal issued from 1926 to 1941. It combined original research with reports, documentary materials, reviews, historical-education articles, conference discussions, institutional chronicles, and official decisions concerning the teaching and organization of history. Its subject range covered Soviet, Russian, European, Asian, ancient, medieval, and modern world history, with a strong emphasis on revolutionary and Marxist interpretations.

• 1941

  Merger with Historical JournalM&A

  Background

  After fifteen years of publication and 94 issues, the journal’s independent run came to an end.

  Action taken

  Marxist Historian was merged with Historical Journal.

  Aftermath

  The title ceased to exist as an independent journal.

  Source

• 1936

  Transfer to the Institute of History of the Academy of SciencesStrategy

  Background

  The journal moved from its earlier association with the Communist Academy and the Society of Marxist Historians into the institutional structure of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.

  Action taken

  Publication was placed under the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.

  Aftermath

  The transition generated difficulties between the editorial board and institute management, although the journal continued publishing and was still regarded as an important historical periodical in 1940.

  Source

1. 1Marxist Historianen.wikipedia.org