The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism

A. Matyukhin; S. D. Mezencev

doi:10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57

UDC 323.22

THE "WORLD REVOLUTION" IN RUSSIAN ANARCHISM The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism

АА Аа

Published in Journal of Political Research · Volume 7, Issue 3 · Pages 45–57 · Rubric: History and theory of politics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57

Received: 05.07.2023 Accepted: 07.07.2023 Published: 17.10.2023

Authors

A. Matyukhin

ORCID SPIN

S. D. Mezencev

A. Matyukhin

Academic degree: doctor of political sciences

Science rang: docent

Moscow State Linguistic University Professor · Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia · Moscow

Moscow State University of Civil Engineering Professor · Moscow

Institute of International Economic Relations Professor · Moscow

ORCID SPIN

S. D. Mezencev

Academic degree: doctor of philosophical sciences

Moscow State University of Civil Engineering Professor · Department of History and Philosophy · Moscow

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to identify the specifics of the theory of the "world revolution" in the ideological and political heritage of Russian anarchism. Historical, comparative, hermeneutic methods of scientific research were actively used to write the article. The ideologists of Russian anarchism in their interpretation of the "world revolution" competed with Marxist doctrine, with its popular dialectical theory of socio-economic formations and class struggle, where the final stage of historical progress was to be the achievement of global communism. Rejecting the Marxist concept of "dictatorship of the proletariat", the Russian anarchists proceeded from an alternative methodology that emphasizes the primacy of natural, biological factors of social processes. According to anarchists, the basic factor of progress is the natural inclination of people to solidarity and mutual assistance. Hence the Russian anarchists opposed the natural nature of the evolution of mankind to any "forced" forms of social organization. This applied, first of all, to the institution of the state, regardless of its external form – communist, liberal-democratic, despotic. The basic parameters of the social ideal in the theory of Russian anarchism were the principles of anarchy and freedom, the building of social existence on the basis of self-organization, self-government and a global decentralized confederation structured "from the bottom up". The former territorial and political borders were abolished, nations were abolished. The anarchists saw the achievement of this ideal as an exclusively revolutionary way, gradually embracing all new countries, regions, continents. The article emphasizes the constant appeal of Russian anarchists to the arguments of universal morality - "freedom", "justice", "brotherhood", "justice", "equality" in justifying the need for a world anarchist revolution, which in practice turned into political abstractions with destructive consequences for societies. At the same time, the "secondary" ideology of Russian anarchism as an intellectual product is noted in relation to Marxism and natural science theories of the XVIII-XIX centuries, as well as the tendency of anarchists to utopian thinking, to speculative building of their global social ideal.

KEYWORDS

Russian anarchism, Marxism, world revolution, M.A. Bakunin, P.A. Kropotkin, mutual aid, state, freedom, anarchy, self-organization, decentralization, global federation, radicalism

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Matyukhin A. V., Mezencev S. D. The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism // Journal of Political Research. 2023. no. 3. pp. 45-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57. (Date of access 29.10.2026).

MLA

A. Matyukhin, Mezencev S. D.. "The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism." Journal of Political Research 7.3 (2023): 45-57. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57.

APA

Matyukhin A. V., Mezencev S. D. (2023). The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism. Journal of Political Research, 7(3), 45-57. https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57

Chicago

A. Matyukhin, Mezencev S. D.. "The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism." Journal of Political Research 7, no. 3 (2023): 45-57. https://doi.org/10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57.

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{{cite journal | author = Matyukhin A. V., Mezencev S. D. | title = The "World Revolution" in Russian Anarchism | journal = Journal of Political Research | year = 2023 | volume = 7 | issue = 3 | pages = 45-57 | doi = 10.12737/2587-6295-2023-7-3-45-57 }}

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