Svobodnoye marksistskoye izdatelstvo

Svobodnoye marksistskoye izdatelstvo (Free Marxist Press) is an independent Russian publishing house specializing in left-wing, anti-capitalist, and critical literature. It was founded in 2008 by the poet, translator, and left-wing activist Kirill Medvedev, though he had already been issuing pamphlets under the imprint's name since 2007. Based in Moscow, the press operates as a small activist project rather than a traditional commercial publisher. The press declares its aim to be "publishing models, above all models of Marxist analysis, and generally left-wing, anti-capitalist thought and the artistic reflection associated with it." In an interview with the online magazine Rabkor.Ru, Medvedev said he wanted the press to combine an enlightenment function with an activist one: to present theories, events, and authors that are entirely unknown in Russia or known only in distorted form (vulgar Soviet or anti-Soviet), and to change the negative ideas about the history and culture of socialism that have taken shape over recent decades. By November 2010 the press had issued around 20 pamphlets, including the first Russian publications of works by contemporary left-wing theorists such as Terry Eagleton, Daniel Bensaïd, and Michael Löwy. It publishes the "Kraft" series in cooperation with the almanac Translit. Its range covers classical Marxist texts, political theory, poetry, film criticism, and cultural analysis. Notable titles include Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Almost a Testament" (2007), Herbert Marcuse's "Marxism and Feminism" (2008), Terry Eagleton's "Marxism and Literary Criticism" (2009), Daniel Bensaïd's "Bolshevism and the 21st Century" (2009), Slavoj Žižek's "Against Human Rights" (2010), and "The Tram Goes to the Front," an anthology of poets who fought in the Great Patriotic War (2010). The press is known for its deliberately plain, minimalist design—cheap paper, simple staples, and a "proletarian" aesthetic that critics have called both attractive and intentionally austere. It has taken part in several book fairs in Moscow and Novosibirsk, and presentations of its pamphlets have been held in various cities. In 2008 it received the Ilya Kormiltsev Prize "for publishing activity that is unconventional in form and progressive in content." Despite its small scale, the press has attracted the attention of critics and cultural figures. Boris Kupriyanov, manager of the Moscow bookstore Falanster, ranked it alongside the band Lyapis Trubetskoy as one of the best examples of contemporary social art. The political commentator Vadim Vetterkov, by contrast, criticized its hand-bound pamphlet format as unsuitable for poetry. The press remains active, continuing to publish books in the "New Red" series and under other imprints.

Svobodnoye marksistskoye izdatelstvo was founded in 2008 by Kirill Medvedev, a poet, translator, musician and left-wing activist born in 1975. Medvedev had already begun publishing pamphlets under the imprint in 2007, starting with Pierre Paolo Pasolini's 'Almost a Testament: Three Texts of 1975'. The publishing house was established as a small, independent project with the aim of issuing Marxist analysis and left-wing, anti-capitalist thought, as well as art reflections connected with it. In its early years the publisher focused on short, inexpensive pamphlets that could be produced quickly and sold cheaply. By November 2010 it had released around 20 such pamphlets, including the first Russian editions of works by contemporary left-wing theorists Terry Eagleton, Daniel Bensaïd and Michael Löwy. The catalogue also included classic Marxist texts, poetry, film criticism and cultural analysis. Together with the almanac Translit, the publisher launched the book series 'Kraft'. In 2008 the publishing house received the Ilya Kormiltsev Prize 'for publishing activity that is unconventional in form and progressive in content.' This recognition helped raise its profile in Russian intellectual circles. Reviews of its pamphlets appeared in a number of publications, including the journal Novoye Literaturnoye Obozreniye, the review journal Pushkin, the Ukrainian journal of social criticism Spilne, the portal OpenSpace.ru and Kasparov.ru. The publisher took part in several book fairs in Moscow and Novosibirsk, and presentations of its pamphlets were held in various cities. On 8 May 2010, an outdoor presentation of the anthology 'A Trampoline Goes to the Front', featuring poems by participants of the Great Patriotic War, took place in Moscow. The publisher's output continued to grow in the 2010s. In 2017 it released books under the 'New Reds' series, including Kirill Medvedev's 'Antifascism for All' and Ilya Budraitskis's 'Dissidents Among Dissidents'. These titles, with prefaces by Oleg Zhuravlev and Alexei Yurchak respectively and covers by Nikolai Oleinikov, reflected the publisher's ongoing commitment to combining activist and scholarly perspectives on Russian and Soviet history. Throughout its existence, the publishing house has maintained a deliberately austere, minimalist aesthetic. Its pamphlets are typically made from cheap paper and bound with staples, a style that reviewers have described as both aesthetically appealing and pointedly 'proletarian'. This approach has drawn both praise and criticism. Boris Kupriyanov, director of the Moscow bookshop Falanster, called it the best contemporary example of social art, while the political critic Vadim Veterkov criticised the format as unsuitable for poetry. Despite its small scale, the publisher has remained an active and recognisable presence in Russia's left-wing intellectual scene.

• 2017

  Publishes books in the 'New Reds' series, including Kirill Medvedev's 'Antifascism for All' and Ilya Budraitskis's 'Dissidents Among Dissidents'.

• 2010

  By November, around 20 pamphlets have been released, including first Russian editions of Terry Eagleton, Daniel Bensaïd and Michael Löwy.

• 2010

  Outdoor presentation of the anthology 'A Trampoline Goes to the Front' held in Moscow on 8 May.

• 2008

  The publishing house is officially founded by Kirill Medvedev.

• 2008

  Receives the Ilya Kormiltsev Prize for publishing activity unconventional in form and progressive in content.

• 2007

  Kirill Medvedev begins issuing pamphlets under the Svobodnoye marksistskoye izdatelstvo imprint, starting with Pasolini's 'Almost a Testament'.

An activist, educational publishing project combining enlightenment and activism, producing cheaply made but intellectually rigorous left-wing literature.

Product categories. Pamphlets on Marxist theory · Left-wing political theory books · Poetry collections · Film and cultural criticism · Translations of Western left-wing theorists

1. 1Official websitefmbooks.wordpress.com
2. 2Wikidata entrywikidata.org
3. 3Russian Wikipedia articleru.wikipedia.org