Communist Academy
Encyclopedia
The Communist Academy was founded in Moscow
on June 25, 1918, as the Socialist Academy; it was renamed in 1924. The Communist Academy was intended to allow Marxists to research problems independent of, and implicitly in rivalry with, the Academy of Sciences
, which long pre-existed the October Revolution
and the formation of the Soviet Union
.
and law under the direction of Evgeny Pashukanis
. The Communist Academy included approximately 100 active members and a number of corresponding members. The goals of the CA were research in social sciences, history, theory and practice of socialism. From April 17, 1924, it was renamed the Communist Academy. On November 26, 1926, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (ЦИК СССР) confirmed the charter of the CA. In December 1929, a Leningrad branch was opened.
The Communist Academy included the following institutes: philosophy, history, literature, art and language, contemporary development and law, world economy and world politics, economics, agrarian studies, natural sciences, and a series of special commissions on specific topics. After reorganization in 1932, the Communist Academy's main focus shifted to socialist development and world economy.
However, the very independence that originally inspired the new Academy caused it to run afoul of Joseph Stalin
, and he abolished it in 1936, an early manifestation of his rapidly-developing purges
. According to a decree published on February 8, 1936, the Communist Academy was subsumed within the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
The Academy's library was preserved as the Fundamental Library of the Social Sciences, which itself became an important part of the still-extant library of the Institute of Scientific Information of the Social Sciences.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on June 25, 1918, as the Socialist Academy; it was renamed in 1924. The Communist Academy was intended to allow Marxists to research problems independent of, and implicitly in rivalry with, the Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, which long pre-existed the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and the formation of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
History
The Communist Academy acquired some success and influence in the 1920s, especially in the social sciencesSocial sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and law under the direction of Evgeny Pashukanis
Evgeny Pashukanis
Evgeny Bronislavovich Pashukanis was a Soviet legal scholar, best known for his work The General Theory of Law and Marxism.-Early life and October Revolution:...
. The Communist Academy included approximately 100 active members and a number of corresponding members. The goals of the CA were research in social sciences, history, theory and practice of socialism. From April 17, 1924, it was renamed the Communist Academy. On November 26, 1926, the Central Executive Committee of the USSR (ЦИК СССР) confirmed the charter of the CA. In December 1929, a Leningrad branch was opened.
The Communist Academy included the following institutes: philosophy, history, literature, art and language, contemporary development and law, world economy and world politics, economics, agrarian studies, natural sciences, and a series of special commissions on specific topics. After reorganization in 1932, the Communist Academy's main focus shifted to socialist development and world economy.
However, the very independence that originally inspired the new Academy caused it to run afoul of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, and he abolished it in 1936, an early manifestation of his rapidly-developing purges
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
. According to a decree published on February 8, 1936, the Communist Academy was subsumed within the Soviet Academy of Sciences.
Journal
From 1922, the Academy published a bulletin ("Вестник Социалистической академии") and from 1924 ("Вестник Коммунистической академии") which lasted until September 1935. For many years, the Communist Academy was a leading center in the social sciences and played a leading role in the ideological war with the bourgeois powers.The Academy's library was preserved as the Fundamental Library of the Social Sciences, which itself became an important part of the still-extant library of the Institute of Scientific Information of the Social Sciences.